CIHM 

ICIMH 

Microfiche 

Collection  de 

Series 

microfiches 

({Monographs) 

IT 

(monographies) 

Canadian  Instituta  for  Historical  Microraproductions    institut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  historiquas 


©1996 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes  /  Notes  technique  et  blt>IJographlques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best  original 
copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this  copy  which 
may  be  bibliographically  unique,  which  may  alter  any  of 
the  images  in  the  reproduction,  or  which  may 
significantly  change  f  usual  method  of  filming  are 
checked  below. 


0 

D 

D 

D 
D 

D 
D 
D 
D 

D 


Coloured  covers  / 
Couverture  de  couleur 

Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommag^ 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Couverture  restaur^  et/ou  pellicula 

Cover  title  missing  /  Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps  /  Cartes  gtographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)  / 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  rwire) 

Cokxired  plates  and/or  illustrattons  / 
Planches  et/ou  illustratkMis  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material  / 
Relid  avec  d'autres  documents 

Only  edition  available  / 
Seule  dditton  (fispcnit>le 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  Interior  margin  /  La  rellure  serr^e  peut 
causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la  distoiston  le  kmg  de 
la  marge  Intdrieure. 

Blar4(  leanws  added  during  restorations  may  appear 
within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these  have 
been  omitted  from  fibning  /  II  se  peut  que  certaines 
pages  blanches  ajout^es  tors  d'une  restauration 
apparaissent  dans  le  trade,  mais,  k>rsque  cela  dtait 
possible,  ces  pages  n'ont  pas  M  fHm^es. 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  examplaire  qu'il  lui  a 
6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details  de  cet  exem- 
plaire  qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du  point  de  vue  bibli- 
ographque,  qui  peuvent  nwdifier  una  image  reproduite, 
ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une  modifications  dans  la  m6th- 
ode  normale  de  fiimage  sont  indiqu^s  ci-dessous. 

I     I     Coteured  pages/ Pages  de  couleur 
I     [      Pages  damaged/ Pages  endommag6es 

I     1      Pages  restored  and/or  laminated  / 

—  Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pellkuldes 

ra     Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed  / 

—  Pages  d6cok>r6es,tachet6esoupk)u«es 

I     [     Pages  detached/ Pages  d6tach«es 
ryi     Showthrough  /  Transparence 

I     I     Quality  of  print  varies/ 

' — '     Quality  In^gale  de  Pimpresskxi 

I     I      Includes  supplementary  material  / 

—  ComprenddumatMeisupptementaire 

I     I      Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 

—  slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image  /  Les  pages 
totalement  ou  partiellement  obscurcies  par  un 
feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure,  etc.,  ont  6t6  filmdes 
k  nouveau  de  fa$on  d  obtenir  la  meilleure 
image  possible. 

I  I  Opposing  pages  with  varying  colouration  or 
discolourations  are  filmed  twtee  to  ensure  the 
best  possible  image  /  Les  pages  s'opposant 
ayant  des  colorations  variables  ou  des  ddcol- 
orattons  sont  filmies  deux  fois  afin  d'obtenir  la 
meilleur  image  possible. 


D 


Addttkxial  comments  / 
Commentaires  suppl^mentatres: 


This  iiam  it  f  iimad  at  th«  rtduetion  ratio  chadud  below/ 

C«  (tocumant  est  film*  au  Uux  da  raduction  indiqua  cinlanout. 

'OX  14  X  18X 


n: 


12X 


tcx 


20X 


22X 


26X 


30X 


2«X 


28X 


32X 


Th«  copy  fllmad  bar*  has  b««n  reproduced  thanks 
to  tha  ganarosity  of: 

Morinvt  Library 
University  of  Ottawa 


L'axamplaira  filing  fut  raproduH  grica  i  la 
g4n4roait*  da: 

BililiotMqut  Morintt 
UnivartitA  d'Ottavra 


Tha  images  appearing  here  are  the  beat  qciality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  originel  copy  and  in  Icaeping  with  the 
filming  contract  speeificationa. 


Original  copiae  in  printed  peper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  lest  pege  with  s  printed  or  illustrated  impree- 
•ion.  or  the  becic  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illuatratad  impres- 
sion, snd  snding  on  the  iaat  page  with  e  printed 
or  Illuatratad  impression. 


The  Iaat  recorded  frame  on  aeeh  microfiche 
shell  contain  ttie  symbol  -^  (meaiyng  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  ▼  (meening  "END"), 
whichever  appUae. 

Mapa.  platea,  charts,  etc..  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratioa.  Thoae  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  expoeure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  comer,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  aa  many  framee  aa 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Lee  imegee  suh^antea  ont  4t«  reproduites  svee  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattet*  da  i'exempiaira  film*,  et  en 
conformit*  avac  lee  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmege. 

Lee  exempleiree  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  eet  ImprimAe  sont  filmte  sn  commen^nt 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dsrniAra  pege  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impreeaion  ou  d'iltuatration.  soit  par  le  second 
plot,  selon  le  cee.  Tous  lee  eutres  sxsmplairee 
originaux  sont  filmte  an  commen9ant  par  la 
premlire  pege  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
dlmpression  ou  dHlustrstion  et  en  terminant  par 
la  damlAre  pege  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  dee  symbolee  suhranta  apparaftra  sur  la 
demi*re  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
caa:  la  symbols  — »>  signifie  "A  SUIVRE".  le 
symbols  ▼  signifie  "FIN". 

Lee  cartea.  pianchea.  tableaux,  etc..  peuvent  Atre 
filmte  i  dee  taux  de  rMuction  diff«rents. 
l-orsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  itre 
reprodult  en  un  seul  clich*.  11  est  film*  «  paitir 
de  I'engle  supMeur  gauche,  de  gauche  i  droKe. 
et  de  haut  en  bee.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nteessaire.  Lea  diagrammee  auivanta 
illuatrent  la  mMhode. 


1  2  3 


MICROCOPY   RBOIUTION   TEST  CHART 

(ANS(  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


d  -APPLIED  IM^GE    Inc 

BT  165 J  Eait  Main  Strni 

'JS  Rochester,  New  York        U609       USA 

»  (716)  482 -0300 -Phone 

gg  (716)  288  -  5989  -  Fax 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


7- 

3C 


FAMILIAR  ESSAYS 

ON 

CLERICAL  TOPICS 


BT 

ARTHUR  BARRT  O'NEILL,  C.  S.  C. 
▲mocUU  Bdltor  of  TiM  Ave  MArte 


UNIVERSITY    PRESS 

NOTRB  DAMB,  INDIANA 


PermlMu  Supenorum 

0ILBERTU8  PRAN9AIS, 

Bup.  09%.  Congr.  a  a.  Cruet. 


tUbd  ObBUt 


J.  B.  SCHEIBR.  C.  8.  C, 

Cetuor  Deputatua, 


fmptimatur 


.0,53 


®  H.  J.  ALBRDINO, 

^**^<*V  0/  Fort  Waynt» 


OOPVRIOHT,   It  14, 

■Y 

A.  B.  O'NEILL 


HAMMOND  PRCM 

W.  ■    CONKCr  COMMNV 

CHICAOO 


*  0 


TO 

FATHER  ALFRED  ROY,  C.  S.  C, 

A  FAITHFUL  FRIEND  FOB  FOBTY  YEABS, 
THIS  BOOK  IS  AFFECTIONATELY 

Ocdlcattd 


CONTENTS 


ESSAT  PAGE 

I.    Young  Preachers,  Careful  and  Careless 9 

II.     The  Priest  as  Book  Censor 26 

III.  Sacerdotal  Ennui 33 

IV.  The  Methodical  Priest  and  His  Opposite 48 

V.     Daily  Meditation 59 

VI.     A  Cleric's  Reading 70 

VII.     The  Rubrics  of  the  Mass 82 

VIII.     The  Breviary:     Gain  and  Loss 94 

IX.     Preaching  and  Rhetoric 105 

X.     The  Week-Day  Mass 116 

XL     The  Priests'  Communion  League 128 

XII.    A  Priest's  Mnemonic  Feat 140 

XIII.  Clerical  Health  and  Exercise 155 

XIV.  Orthoepy  in  the  Pulpit 170 

XV.     Health  and  Holiness  in  Convents 188 

XVI.     The  Leisure  of  Clerics  and  Religious 201 

XVII.     Clerical  Hobbies 211 

Appendix 
Sonnet  Sequence:     A  Priest's  Way  of  the  Cross 227 


FOREWORD 


THE  contents  of  this  volume  have  appeared 
"  from  time  to  time  during  the  past  two 
decades  in  the  pages  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Review, 
to  the  kindly  editor  of  which  standard  periodical 
the  author's  thanks  for  pennission  to  reprint  are 
herewith  gratefully  tendered.  The  reprinting  has 
seen^ed  to  be  warranted  not  less  by  the  favorable 
reception  accorded  to  the  essays  on  their  original 
appearance  than  by  the  comparative  dearth  of 
English  books  of  just  this  kind— books  written 
by,  for,  and  about  priests. 

It  may  be  well  to  state  that,  in  visualizing  my 
prospective  reader,  I  have  had  in  mind,  not  the 
cleric  of  distinction,  the  exceptionally  saintly  or 
scholarly  or  zealous  ecclesiastic,  but  rather  one 
who,  like  myself,  is  merely  an  ordinary,  every- 
day priest,  a  sort  of  clerical  counterpart  of  that 
familiar  lay  character,  the  man  in  the  street. 
Accordingly,  both  in  the  selection  of  topics  and  in 
their  treatment,  I  have  aimed  at  being  helpfully 
interesting  by  telling  such  a  reader  some  things 
which  he  himself  has  long  known  or  felt,  but 
which  perhaps  he  has  never  found  anyone  to  put 
in  words  for  him,  and  by  suggesting  other  things 
which,  as  soon  as  his  attention  is  called  to  them, 
appeal  to  his  good  sense  and  compel  his  approval. 

It  remains  to  be  said  that  if,  in  such  incidental 
portrait-painting   or   character-sketching   as    ap- 


8 


FOBEWORD 


pears  in  these  pages,  the  imperfect  cleric  is  more 
m  evidence  than  is  his  exemplary  brother,  the 
adequate  explanation  is  that  I  have  followed  the 
counsel  of  the  old-time  sage,  "Look  into  thy  heart 
and  write."  Such  looking,  it  is  hoped,  has  no 
been  unprofitable.  If.  indeed,  the  perusal  of  the 
essays  proves  half  as  helpful  to  the  reader  as 
their  composition  has  been  beneficial  to  the  writer 
the  volume  will  abundanOy  justify  its  publication! 

The  Author. 


YOUNG  PREACHERS,  CAREFUL  AND 
CARELESS 

My  best  sermon  is  the  one  I  know  the  best. — MaasilJon. 

Manj  a  wandering  discourse  one  hears  in  which  the  preacher 
aims  at  nothing  and  hits  it. — Dr.  Whately. 

I  have  always  noticed  that  the  best  extemporaneous  speeches 
are  those  which  have  been  carefully  written  out  beforehand,  the 
manuscript  being  conveniently  within  reach  in  the  orator's  waist- 
coat pocket.— J.  B.  LowjU. 

HOW  long  should  a  young  priest  continue  the 
practice  of  writing  and  memorizing  his 
sermons?  The  question  was  recently  put  to  a 
scholarly  Catholic  prelate  and  author,  and  his 
unhesitating  reply  was:  "Ten  years  at  least." 
Had  the  inquiry  been  as  to  the  length  of  time 
during  which  the  average  young  priest  does  con- 
tinue the  practice,  it  is  probable,  and  regrettable, 
that  the  true  answer  might  have  been  widely 
different.  As  a  matter  of  justice  and  propriety, 
no  other  form  of  public  discourse  is  entitled  to 
so  elaborate  a  preparation  as  the  sermon;  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  one  is  often  tempted  to  believe 
that  for  no  other  is  the  preparation  so  inadequate. 
No  extended  argument  is  necessary  to  convince 
even  the  youngest  of  those  who  have  been  elevated 
to  the  priestly  rank  that  the  ministry  which  they 
exercise  in  preaching  the  Word  of  God  merits 
their  most  profound  respect,  and  calls  for  the 
best  efforts  of  their  intellects  and  hearts.    It  is 


10 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


and  preach  thproL  w    ^    '"*°  ***^  ^^ole  world 

Baptiof  prrpa?c"d"^ire.  '^^Ut  t  f  V^ 
austere   penance   and  solitude     that  StlW*"* 

Charged  with  /„  rw/T  ^t i'riS  ':!re':7 
Mderations  well  calculated  to  impreS  „,^i,l 

perfoming        '      "'  <=™'™«'«d  the  obligation  o^ 

in.blThe;U"cherwir''^"''r/"'"-«'^''> 
ministry,  tliey  wouM  hf  f       j""'^''  "*«  "'  h" 


YOUNG  PREACHERS 


11 


sponsibilities  incurred  by  those  who  neglect  to  do 
what  in  them  lies  toward  the  achievement  of  those 
results.    It  has  been  well  said  that  in  practical 
importance,   the  sermon   scarcely  yields   to   the 
sacraments;   for,   although   these   latter  are    the 
divinely  ordained  channels  of  God's  grace,  it  com- 
monly happens  that  preaching  is  the  only  means 
by  which  those  who  stand  most  in  need  of  that 
grace  can  be  brought  to  the  tribunal  of  penance 
and  to  the  Holy  Table.    There  is  nothing  fanciful 
or  exaggerated  in  the  statement  that,  as  often  as 
the  priest  announces  the  Wrrd  of  God  to  his  peo- 
ple, the  interests  inv  Ived  in  his  discourse,  and 
the  results  dependent  on  its  force  or  its  feeble- 
ness, are  incomparably  greater  than  those  which 
confront  the  advocate  appealing  to  a  jury  on  be- 
half of  a  fellow-creature's  liberty  or  life.    Theo- 
retically, indeed,  it  is  almost  impossible  for  the 
preacher  to  have  too  lofty  a  conception  of  the 
dignity  and  importance  of  his  office;  practically, 
however,  it  is  quite  possible  that  in  his  hands  the 
dignity  may  be  compromised  and  the  importance 
disregarded,— quite  possible  that  he  may  come  to 
merit  not  only  the  epithets  "traitor"  and  "wretch" 
with  which  Quintilian  brands  the  lawyer  who  fails 
to  do  his  best  for  his  client,  but  the  terrible  an- 
athema of  Holy  Writ:     Maledictus  qui  facit  opus 
Dei  negligenter.^ 

Admitting  that  the  genius  essential  to  the  for- 
mation of  a  pulpit  orator  of  the  highest  grade  is 
nature's  dower  to  but  very  few,  and  that  notable 

iJerem,  xlviii.  10. 


12 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


can  be  .UDDlied  L  „  "culUes.  whose  lack 

•UU  .eem"T^„''^vTlid  «."^'  "' '"^f  ">•  «here 
of  every  man  whom  rnnT        '^''^  *'"'  """o™ 

effeeUve.  and*rL''°^e:fr„te"°o;  '^  "'''"}: 
abused  term,  eloquent  ^eth!r^°J.  *'  "'"'='' 
«ny  given  preacher  djeriVfM.  ^h  *»cour.e. of 
ito  opposite  w',  h.^f     J  .    eharaclerizaUon  or 

on  .h?de;^;e'^Ah':r:°urne«  iTwhf  f  h'''"'">' 

S.  Mn^Tu.r *  r '"  ^-  '^Haf'S 
aon.  eM^Ua,  a,  ,h,r"T  "J"  «"»*""  P«P«"- 
acquisilion  of  an  abuLw"".'""'"''  '»•  "<=^  »« 
the  leading  of  an  p„^  .  '  "°"  "^  knowledge, 

habit  of  Z^,  ZS'7 '""' » '■"'y  w«. « 

purity  of  intenUon,  «d  al°  tCrV"""'  "■"• 

Ihis  proximate  preparation  nftkT       ''Onceming 
be  talcen  for  granted  Oil?  «./    f-  """'"'•  "  ""V 

ough  or  inade^X^'dX  rfl«?fe  "  "  *°" 
the  preacher's  ministrv.„!fM  **  y*»"  of 
tinue  to  be  thronahn^'  1°  '""  '=«"n™onIy  con- 
fulness  inftiSeZ'  h-'  career.    Initial  care- 

found  that  Kniar^' Jf?'  ^-^'^  '^J  "  be 


YOUNG  PREACHERS 


13 


the  young  priest  prepares  his  sermons;  and  the 
remainder  of  this  essay  will  be  giveu  up  to  a 
brief  discussion  of  the  several  methods  of  prepa- 
ration that  are  open  to  his  choice.  It  may  be  well 
to  premise  that  by  a  "young  priest"  is  meant  one 
whose  ordination  dates  back  not  further  than  a 
decade:  and  that  what  follows  is  based  on  the 
supposition  of  his  having,  as  in  the  majority  of 
cases  he  undoubtedly  has,  ample  time  to  devole 
to  an  adequate  preparation. 

The  least  complex,  and  one  of  the  least  com- 
mendable, of  all  methods  of  making  oneself  ready 
for  the  pulpit  is  that  which  consists  wholly  and 
solely  in  an  exercise  of  the  memor}',  the  prepa- 
ration being  restricted  to  th?  simple  process  of 
getting  by  heart  the  discourse  of  another.  Viewed 
as  a  manifestation  of  altruistic  sentiment,  such  a 
course  is  perhapn  not  absolutely  indefensible,  and 
it  must  further  be  admitted  that  those  who  adopt 
it  follow  the  letter  of  at  least  one  portion  of 
St.  Paul's  advice*— they  assuredly  do  not  preach 
themselves:  but  even  at  the  risk  of  sacrificing 
altruism  to  egotism,  the  young  preacher  vill  do 
well  to  eschew  the  practice.  Apart  from  all 
higher  considerations,  it  would  seem  that  a  proper 
self-respect  should  be  sufficient  to  deter  a  clergy- 
nian  from  playing  in  the  pulpit  the  rather  ques- 
tionable rdle  of  another  man's  proxy.  He  be- 
comes at  best  o"v'  a  species  of  improved  phono- 
graph: and,  do  what  he  will,  his  utterances,  like 


»  n  Oor.  It.  8. 


M 


PBIE8TLY  PBACTICB 


ft'*B   of    the    phonographic   cylinder    will    h. 
mechanicl  rather  U,an  vlvifed  «  vi^fyi*'"    ** 

like  charity  in  SiT^h^H       -^  P"**^'*'  speaker. 

.he  pcii.ur^5%reVcrp':;:;,::  z^^i 

Sorr;„^I-t^  'he  wa7oPac1ur;.S^ 

fl^meftoST  *'"'  "'"^'•Sy™''"  who  adopt,  "hi. 
sptSuv^iy""'"""'"""'  '""  «"«'y  hope  to 

course-  and  in  1??  composing  a  fit  dis- 

avail  him^df  of^h?        '"**^^'^*  "^^  **^«*  *»e  ^^Y 

quUe  fa^e  to  assort  thaTT  "'  '°°*'"'-'  *»"'  ^*  ^« 
aie  lo  assert  that,  of  every  tweniy  who  do 


YOUNG  PREACHERS 


15 


lo  avail  themselves,  nineteen  ai  lacking,  not 
in  talent,  but  ict  industry.  In  composition,  as  in 
every  other  art,  facility  comes  with  practice,  and 
inability  to  write  is  due  far  more  frequently  to 
the  non-exertion  of  mental  powers  than  to  their 
non-existence.  That  the  young  priest  finds  the 
composition  of  an  original  sermon  a  hard,  tedious 
and  irksome  task  may  possibly  be  his  fault,  or 
perhaps  only  his  misfortune;  but  in  either  case 
the  difficulty  of  the  work  certainly  does  not  ex- 
empt him  from  its  perfonnance,  especially  as 
this  difficulty  will  surely  be  found  to  decrease  with 
each  successive  trial.  Aversion  to  intellectual 
labor  and  sustained  mental  effort  is  quite  intelli- 
gible to  most  men,  but  that  it  forms  a  valid  reason 
for  neglecting  plain  duties  will  hardly  be  urged 
by  any. 

If  we  suppose  the  preacher  to  be  actuated,  in 
using  the  discourses  of  another,  by  a  motive  still 
more  ignoble  than  laziness,  if  we  conceive  that 
he  is  the  slave  of  vanity  and  follows  this  course 
simply  to  acquire  the  fraudulent  reputation  of 
being  a  great  preacher,  we  place  him  at  once  be- 
yond the  pale  of  every  worthy  man's  sympathy 
or  respect.  Of  all  the  ridiculous  mortals  that 
"play  such  fantastic  tricks  before  high  heaven  as 
make  the  angels  weep,"  none,  we  take  it,  is  so 
thoroughly  and  contemptibly  ludicrous  as  the 
clerical  jack-daw,  strutting  about  the  altar  or  the 
pulpit  in  the  borrowed  plumage  of  another  man's 
eloquence.    The  discourses  o(   such  t  jher 

cannot  well  be  other  than  nugatory  in  t      icielves 


16 


PRIESTLY  PBACTICB 


!l 


and  ultimately  disaitrout  to  the  speaker;  for, 
while  on  the  one  hand  it  can  scarcely  be  expected 
that  the  blessing  of  God  will  sanctify  the  ministry 
of  a  plagiarist  from  vanity,  on  t  jtlier  it  is  more 
than  reasonably  certain  that  soouer  or  later  his 
plagiarism  will  be  detecter*  and  his  claims  to 
genuine  eloquence  discredited.  "What  a  grand 
St  ion  Father  Blank  preached  to-day!"  said  an 
emotional  lady  to  a  companion,  a  few  years  ago, 
as  they  were  leaving  a  city  church  after  High 
Mass.  "Yes,"  was  the  somewhat  critical  and  quite 
unemotional  reply,  *'yes,  I  have  always  liked  that 
sermon  and  I  read  it  frequently:  but  I  confess  I 
prefer  that  other  one  of  Father  Baker's,  on  The 
Lessons  of  Autumn.*"  Viewed  from  the  stand- 
point of  effectiveness  in  the  preacher,  or  of  utility 
to  the  congregation,  a  fifth-rate  original  sermon  is 
worth  at  least  five  times  as  much  as  a  first-rate 
borrowed  one. 

The  Second  method  of  prep»<rntion  is  substan- 
tially the  same  as  the  first,  and  is  open  to  the  same 
general  objections.  In  this  second  itm  thod  the 
process  is  still  plagiarism,  but  it  is  the  patchwork 
system  of  plagiarizing,  the  preacher  borrowing 
from  seviral  sources  instead  of  one.  This  plan 
commonly  entails  more  labor  than  does  that  of 
appropriating  a  complete  discourse,  and  is  so  far, 
perhaps,  less  reprehensible;  but  it  is  questionable 
whether  the  results  achieved  are  at  all  preferable. 
It  is  certain,  in  fact,  that  many  of  the  so-called 
sermons  that  are  the  outcome  of  this  method,  far 
from  being  coherent  discourses  in  which  there 


YOUNG  PREACHERS 


IT 


appear  a  natural  connection  of  parts  and  a  logical 
sequence  of  thought,  are  mere  literary  crazy  quilts, 
wherein  all  order  and  unity  are  conspicuously 
wanting.  In  endeavoring  properly  to  adjust  to 
each  other  passages  that  were  never  intended  to 
be  so  adjusted,  the  writer  almost  unavoidably  en- 
counters  the  difHculty  that  beset  a  certain  preacher 
who  once  consulted  Father  Potter  of  All  Hallows. 
**I  have  taken  great  pains,"  said  he,  "to  write  out 
twelve  or  thirteen  pages  from  the  various  French 
sermon  books,  and  now,  after  all  my  trouble,  I 
can't  make  them  fit." 

While  neither  of  the  foregoing  method",  of 
preparing  oneself  to  preach  can  be  recommended 
as  calculated  to  produce  sermons  instinct  with  the 
life  and  vigor  that  impress  men's  minds  and  move 
iheir  hearts,  still  in  each  there  is  positive  prepa- 
ration, and,  at  worst,  the  young  preacher  who 
adopts  either  will  be  likely  to  say  something,  to 
announce  correct  doctrine,  and  to  speak  in  a  style 
not  unbecoming  God*s  Word. 

There  is  a  third  method,  negative  rather  than 
positive,  from  which  ii  is  too  much  to  expect  even 
these  meagre  results.  This  is  the  summary  process 
that  precedes  extempore  preaching,  whether  that 
process  be  the  reading  up  of  a  subject  for  an  hour 
or  two  previous  to  speaking  upon  it,  or  the  medi- 
tation of  the  proposed  discourse  during  a  like 
period  of  time,  with  the  possible  determining  of 
the  main  ideas  to  be  developed.  As  for  strictly 
extempore  speaking,  speaking  absolutely  on  the 
spur  of  the  moment,  it  is  so  difOicult  to  imagine 


18 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


be  here  considered  ^        "*'  """'  "  »«<!  "ot 

approaches  mor"  „«rIvT      '''^''  ***  ""»  P'"" 
apostolic  method      ThJ  I„  '  '"''.  """^  '°  «he 

needed.  -uggesU  itse«'^hrSod  ""^T  ""^ 
excellrnt  one— for  aDr..(il.  "'*""'<'  may  be  an 
with  apostolic  idltsT/!'  '"'  '"''  """^^  ^«™red 
conditions:  but  ft  ^  ""IX""""""'  ''^  "Po^'oUe 
for  even  tlie  mUt  exDerien.L""'.'.""  *•""  »«"«"' 
«■«»  it  is  certaSy  Z    '  !..    °"^?^'y  P^^'^^er, 

Only  long  years  of  careTurn/aJ,*'-^'""'*  <""=■ 
and   writing  can  fo™  1?  i?  f  ^"  '"  speaking 
'bought  and   clear    wr,       '""'"'  "^  "'•lerly 
enable  a  preacher'^  tprovlr'''''''™   «»  ""' 
any  claim  to  the  tiUe  of  Tod  \':™™  ^^ring 
improvisations  show  an  niifr*    .1  ^  ™''''  '"eh 
force  and  clearness  a„dnlf    "1^  °'  <»•<'"••  ""i'y. 
of  all  the  qualirwhieh  m    '"''^.'1"=?  lack  mof 
acterize  them,  brevUv     ItT     "'  ""  """"W  <=har- 
•hat  to  this  radiearevil  nf  T  T""''  •>«  •'""bted 
cient  premedSn   are  fo' h'^'"f.  ^"'"»"  ""»- 
nine-tenths   of    those  ^..l.,f'"'"'"='l  f^Hy 
without  pith  or  pSnt.  whth^'":^'^  "r""^-' 
learned  to  deplore  as  -Mnn."  ""^"""g  laity  have 
discourses  in  J^hich,  Ttro^nl  tZ"Z'~''""''"'"' 
themes,  the  speakers  ran»»  i'  u     L^'^"'  Particular 
over  the  whole  field  „fmoraU.'j:Ph?7<l  fashion 
Agressions:  recover  i^^eZ^-J^ZZ^^fe 


YOUNG  PREACHERS 


19 


repetrlions;  and,  aiming  at  nothing,  take  an  un- 
conscionable Ume  in  hitUng  it.  Who  has  not 
listened  for  a  hour  to  a  preacher  who  with  ade- 
quate preparation  could  have  said  his  say  and 
said  It  far  more  effectively,  too,  in  twenty  minutes? 
Lacking  this  preparation  he  delivered  a  "bald  dis- 
jointed chat"  in  which  indeed  may  have  appeared 
the  crude,  undigested  materials  of  a  discouree.  but 
which  no  more  merited  the  name  of  a  real  sermon 
than  a  confused  heap  of  bricks  and  mortar,  boards 
and  shingles  deserves  to  be  called  a  house. 

Perhaps  no  greater  service  could  be  rendered 
to  the  long-winded  extempore  preacher  than  to 
present  him  on  Monday  with  a  verbatim  published 
report  of  his  discourse  of  the  previous  day.    Could 
he  be  prevailed  upon  to  read  the  faithful  tran- 
script of  his   "eloquent  sermon,"   to   peruse   at 
eisure  just  what  windy  nothings  and  prosy  plati- 
tudes he  said,  and  remark  just  how  wretchedly 
he  said  them,  it  is  tolerably  certain  that  his  next 
effort  would  be  briefer,  pithier,  and  in  every  way 
worthier  of  his  office.    The  rebuke  which  a  Scotch 
preacher  once  received  from  a  half-witted  mem- 
ber of  lus  flock  is  of tener  merited  than  adminis- 
tered.   The  parson's  soporific  truisms,  long  drawn 
out  had  gradually  produced  their  legitimate  effect 
of  lulling  the  congregation  one  by  one  into  placid 
slumber.    Rousing  the   delinquents  by   a   smart 
blow    on    the    desk    before    him,    the    indignant 
preacher  reprimanded    them   severely  for  their 
gracelessness  and  inattention,  adding  that  the  only 
one  of  his  hearers  who  had  not  been  asleep  was 


20 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


I 


Hthe  poor  fool,  Sandy."_"Yes."  interjected  Sandy, 
^and  .f  I  were  not  a  fool,  I'd  have  been  asleep! 

A  young  priest  cannot  well  make  a  graver  mis- 
take .„  the  matter  of  preaching  than  to  adoptfth 
ojr-hand  style  of  announcing  God's  Word     He 

and  to  his  auditors,  be  they  ever  so  unlettered 

paUble  with  the  measure  of  talent  with  which  God 
fulvpT  K^  '"'"• .  ""  "  '«"■"<'  '"  "onor  and 
loWm,  one'""""'  '"  *'  ""^^  "«"  »  P°-'"<' 

"whose  weighty  sense 
J! lows  in  fit  words  and  heavenly  eloquence; ' ' 

ment"o°f  fh»T^  "?"  *"  "'"'''  P*^^'"'  ^is  attain- 
aTl^V  ^^^'  "'  P'-^^'^hing  without  due  reflec- 
uon  and  previous  study. 

one^h*.«°r''  '""^°''  °'  P'^P^^Uon.  and  the  only 
one  Uius  far  considered  that  merits  approval  is 
that  followed  by  pmbabiy  the  great  maS'of 
conscienUous  preac.e«.  Briefly  it  coSte  lu 
thinking  out  the  whole  sermon,  hut  in  writine 
merely  its  substance.    What  it  supposes  a^d    n? 

fIT  "Y-  "'""'P^  •'^  ^''  understood  from 
Fenelons  description  of  the  pulpit  orator  whom 
he  commends  for  preaching  without  having  wri" 
ten  his  discourse.  He  speaks  "of  a  man  whTis 
well  instructed  and  has  great  facility  of  exprel 

beanngs,  the  principles  of  the  subject  which  he 


YOUNG  PREACHERS 


21 


is  to  treat;  who  has  conceived  that  subject  in  his 
intellect  and  arranged  his  arguments  in  the  clearest 
manner;  who  has  prepared  a  certain  number  of 
striking  figures  and  touching  sentiments,  which 
may  render  it  sensible  and  bring  it  home  to  his 
hearers;  who  knows  perfectly  well  all  that  he  is 
to  say  and  he  precise  place  in  which  to  say  it,  so 
that  nothing  remains,  at  the  moment  of  delivery, 
^'it  to  find  words  with  which  to  express  himself." 
Aere  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  thoroughness 
of  such  a  preparation  as  this;  and  for  the  expe- 
rienced preacher  who  has  had  years  of  practice 
in  his  ministry,  it  is,  everything  considered,  prob- 
ably the  best  of  all  plans.  For  the  young  preacher, 
however,  who  has  not  yet  had  this  practice,  there 
is  a  still  better  method,  that  indicated  in  the  initial 
paragraph  of  this  essay. 

Whether  the  arguments  urged  in  general 
against  the  delivery  from  memory  of  written  ser- 
mons be  solid  or  flimsy  (and  flimsy  si  me  of  them 
assuredly  are),  few  will  deny  that  this  writing 
and  memorizing  is  by  far  the  best  plan  of  action 
that  the  young  priest  can  adopt.  Even  St.  Liguori, 
who  inveighs  so  strongly  against  such  preachers 
as  are  slaves  of  their  memory,  took  good  care  to 
allow  none  of  his  younger  Fathers  to  ascend  the 
pulpit  without  their  having  previously  written  all 
that  they  were  to  say.  The  inconveniences  to 
which  this  method  is  liable  may  be  real,  but,  at 
least  in  the  case  of  the  youthful  preacher,  they 
are  more  than  compensated  for  by  the  sterling 
advantages  which  it  undoubtedly  possesses.    And 


22 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


the  more  gradual  is  the  transition  from  this  full 
and  complete  preparation  to  the  less  elaborate 
method  mentioned  in  the  preceding  paragraph,  the 
greater  is  the  likelihood  of  the  priest's  eventually 
becoming  a  ready,  forcible,  and  effective  minister 
of  the  divine  Word. 

A  good  formula  for  the  actual  composition  of 
the  sermon  is :  some  reading,  more  thinking,  care- 
ful writing,  and  no  "cribbing."    Once  the  subject 
has  been  chosen,  and  the  particular  point  of  view 
from  which  it  is  to  be  treated  determined,  it  will 
generally  be  found  beneficial  to  read  what  has 
been  written  on  the  same  theme  by  one  or  several 
good  authors,  and  to  study  with  the  aid  of  a  con- 
cordance those  portions  of  Sacred  Scripture  which 
bear  a  special  reference  to  the  matter  in  hand. 
Having  thus  acquired  an  abundance  of  ideas  rela- 
tive to  the  subject,  our  young  priest  will  do  well 
to  put  aside  his  books  and  meditate  these  ideas, 
turning  them  over  in  his  mind,  observing  how  they 
adjust  themselves   to   his   preconceived   notions, 
dwelling  on  the  cognate  sentiments  which  they 
suggest — in  a  word,  digesting  what  he  has  read 
until  it  assimilates  with  his  previous  knowledge 
and  becomes  his  own.    Whether  it  be  carried  on 
concurrently  with  the  writing  or  before  that  is  be- 
gun, meditation  is  the  most  important  and  should 
be  the  lengthiest  process  in  the  building  up  of  a 
discourse.    It  is  superfluous  to  add  that  the  more 
care  the  writer  gives  to  the  expression  of  his 
thought,  the  better  will  be  his  sermon.    Knovmg 


YOUNG  PREACHERS 


23 


the  mental  status  of  the  congregation  whom  he  is 
to  address,  and  the  general  culture,  or  want  of  it, 
that  characterizes  them,  he  will,  of  course,  adapt 
his  language,  figures,  allusions  and  illustrations  to 
their  particular  capacities;  but  no  degree  of  illit- 
erateness  in  a  prospective  audience  justifies  negli- 
gence, either  in  the  form  of  the  discourse  as  a 
whole,  or  in  the  structure  of  its  component  parts. 
There  is  no  more  pernicious  mistake  than  to  sup- 
pose that  a  plain,  simple,  "common  sense"  instruc- 
tioii  is  removed  from  the  sphere  of  rhetoric,  or 
is  not  amenable  to  the  laws  of  thought  and  ex- 
pression. Apart  from  Scriptural  texts,  quotations 
should  not  be  multiplied,  and  those  employed 
should  be  credited  to  their  proper  sources. 
Stripped  of  all  euphemistic  phraseology,  plagiar- 
ism is  theft.  No  man,  perhaps,  can  be  original  in 
what  he  says;  but  every  man  can  and  should  be 
original  in  his  way  of  saying  it.  Let  the  skeleton 
of  his  thought  come  from  where  it  may,  the  flesh 
and  blood  that  clothe  it  should  be  a  part  of  himself. 
On  the  degree  of  originality,  thus  under- 
stood, that  a  sermon  possesses,  depends  in  a  great 
measure  the  facility  or  difliculty  of  committing  H 
to  memory.  The  more  of  one's  own  and  the 
fewer  of  other  men's  sentences  it  contains,  the 
more  readily  will  it  be  committed.  And  here  it  is 
to  be  remarked  that  the  stereotyped  criticism,  "the 
preacher  who  delivers  hfs  sermon  from  memory 
has  the  appearance  of  a  schoolboy  reciting  his 
task,"  if  applicable  at  all,  applies  to  those  only 


» 


PEIESTLT  PRACTICE 


who  foUow  the  fl«t  or  .eeond  method  of  prepa- 
™Uon  wh.ch  we  have  di«u«ed.  tho.e  who  p«ach 

*eUverr  "'  ""''".■    «*'*«"  "•«  "»  Who 

who  recite  ,h™  ''"""r"  "»"  *«  '"hoolboy 
Who  reate,  the  words  of  his  text-book,  there  is 

of  learning  a  sermon  after  one  ha.  composed  « 
has  been  a  good  deal  exaggerated.    Nof™  few 

know  r'*""*"'"*  "o  ^"^"y  ''"""ever?  th^ 
know  their  sermon  as  soon  as  they  have  com 
pleted  Its  revision.    These,  perhaps  a^  exT^ 

leZi  '""''  •""•  *^™  «  •""eour^'oHrSiaX 
length,  representing  the  outcome  of  a  manTo^ 
earnest  thonght  and  studied  compositSn  LZ 
ftn?      r;  '^?""  ™''  ''•^<=«  «»  memorize  Tt» 

that  m«k  tCt  f"."'"'  "PP"^"'  spontaneity 
mat  mark  the  best  extemporaneous  speakina  J, 
ftoroughly.  indeed,  that  the  preacher  may  °*te" 

th^ad  nfl.       ""T""-  »""  *">  «s.mie  the 
Stfuon'  ''"«'°'"  ""'=•"'"«  -«><«"  ««>uble 

He^nitri^SgrL^s-s-- 

mon,  the  younc  Driest  win  k«  i     * 

therefor  hv  f hi  /       •  '^^  ^'"P'y  rewarded 

.helXX^acc^nSrof^t'^fX^"^? 

s:;^crrrcin^rc?-£H^"--7^ 

preparaUon,  and  is  doi°n*g  '^UTi^  ^^Z:'^. 


YOUNG  PREACHERS 


25 


TruT  aL^°  „""^  '^"""^  ^'  '^'^^^o-^  of  "ouls. 
w^o  fructTflef  thl  '''^  '"^^°"^'  "  "  ^od  alone 

oered  that,  if  God  gives  the  increase,  the  Dlantino 
and  watering  is  the  work  nf  fh«  ^l  *"«  Planting 
tua.  Deus  sua  faciet  P^^^<^^^r.    Fac 


ii 


n. 

THE  PRIEST  AS  BOOK  CENSOR 

childhood  have  grown  insfpfd  an^  the  S„Jf  ."T*  P"^«"  °'7«»' 

IS  il  a  sin  lo  read  novels,  Father?    Few  nricsts 
*    among  those  who  have  had  even  a  lfm?t 'd 

n„„i        ?f""?  'i"^'*'""  «  one  frequently  pr<; 
pounded;  and  still  fewer,  it  is  to  be  hoped   are 

f r^  ♦    fu  off-hand  answer:  yes,  or  no     In 

fact,  to  the  question  thus  baldly  put  the  resnnnl^ 

s'atr^"!"  V°°°^^"^^^^  wX^bdnTatThe 
sanie  time  vastly  imprudent.  «  "i  me 

♦K.       *^"  *^^  y°""«  woman  or  girl  (from  whom 

of  nreiri"s7ot^  """^  -erely^hat\h"S,'^ 
oi  novels  is  not  wrong,  is  constructively  to  son^ 

S.ou«h'sS'''H'  "'?"^  ""'"'^  Whose Vndre;; 
tnough  sk  Ifully  disguised  or  veiled,  is  in  realitv 

not  less  vile  and  pernicious  than  tha  of  tSe  woil^ 

i:tT2l' !'"""  ""  "■«'  Churcht°prLhibT°„^* 
iMex.   while  to  answer  summarily  that  novel 
feadmg  „  sinful,  is  to  go  to  the  olhe^eZm"  a^d 

L^f7  "  "^°'^™  «»  indefensible  as  w^uW  Se 
the  condemnation  of  basking  in  the  surUgh?  or 

26 


ihlm":.^  t  .'t'llillTu-.r  •  '"  '"^  ■"--hue. 
one  indicate Z'h^TJ!^","  ""' "»  '"f"?"*"! 
the  multifario^  «,n»?       i  clearness  (hat  one  of 

regarded  Z"  en  rt^H'.''  ^^'1  ""^  P""'  » 
of  book  censor  And  ,.h  .I"  "  "'""S"'  "  "'«« 
incompetent  ,af/n,         ^^iH  '=''"'°'"-  '«PaWe  or 

measure  „?  hi,  attaTnme!;^  ■"".•. f '=<"•'"»«  '"  *» 
conscientiou^est  "^rrt  nZ"^  '"'  ''*''!,'"  "'  "is 
.e«ve  mini,.^  „' „  i^neT;  orTh^eelU^ 

with^vrl^p^tl*^;!"!-  Of  this  otnee 
essential  that  the  Driest  n?l  a  '"J"^"'  "  »««"» 
an  extensive   Ihouoh  „„?  '""''  ''"""''  ""I"'" 

acquaintance  WcS^n"'Tr'^!":i  "  ""'-hand, 
knowledge  is  hernmf  r/"^-  ""=  domain  of 

™ost  g,;ftfd  mindsrus.'°er:e";1, J.lr'th'^^^"  "■« 
ranee  in  many  a  ApIH  «f  »k  ?.  *  *^^*^  ^«no- 
.here  i,  „o  '^e/jJ^^Jn^^Xi^^rf'''' 

others- sake     ftt  uu        ""-f?  "<="""••  ^^t  ^o-" 
attain  such  info™  aH„„™' .'.  ''"'°°^^'  "im  to 
enable  him  to  Zde  riK""  ^^^  '"""J"'  «»  «^1 
or  approv"  wit^^r.mL     P'''"'"''"'''^  'o  condemn 
The  world  onida!!  *'""."•""  *=<'"»««  tion. 
one  hour  devoted  i.h  '''"'''"«  "'"■":  ^ut  for 
»cientiflc  bWanhical         5""'?'  "'  "^'orical. 
Ieastflveari5veJun,„^K''T"™'''  '">'^'-  at 
papers  and  noveL     The  l%''r°''T8  "^  »'*»- 
private  iihrarie,  L  !X^^^'^!^^^  ^^ 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


publishers,  observation  of  the  volumes  one  sees  ' 
the  hands  of  fellow-travelers  on  railway  or  steai. 
ship,  a  casual  examination  of  the  literature  preva- 
lent in  the  ordinary  homo  circle— all  emphasize 
the  fact  that,  of  three-fourths  of  those  who  read 
at  all,  the  uade  mecum  is  the  fictitious  narrative, 
the  omnipresent  novel. 

Pre-eminently  the  literary  expression  of  this 
opening  quarter  of  the  twenUeth  century,   the 
novel  is  stamped  with  the  characterisUcs  of  the 
Umes;  and  just  as,  with  not  a  little  that  is  noble, 
the  age  presents   » uch  that  is  commonplace  and 
a  great  deal  that      base,  so  among  novels  there 
are  to  be  found  the  positively  good,  the  compara- 
tively harmless,  and  the  superlatively  vicious.    To 
be  able  to  discriminate  among  these  various  classes 
and  the  multiplied  divisions  of  which  each  is  sus- 
ceptible, to  be  so  skilled  in  literary  botany  as  to 
distinguish  not  only  the  healthful  plant  from  the 
deadly  herb,  but  the  innocent  odor  of  one  beau- 
teous flower  from  the  poisonous  perfume  of  a 
blossom  which,  to  unschooled  gatherers,  is  equally 
fair  and  sweet,  is  to  possess  a  knowledge  of  no 
little  value  to  him  who  as  father-confessor,  director 
of  the  parish  library,  or  friendly  counsellor  and 
guide,  must  often  be  consulted  as  to  the  selection 
of  books. 

How  is  this  knowledge  to  be  acquired?  As- 
suredly not  by  the  priest's  personally  examining 
the  monthly  or  weekly  output  of  the  various  fac- 
tories of  fiction.  Such  a  course  would  be  con- 
demnable,  even  in  the  hypothetical  case  of  its 


THE  PRIEST  AS  BOOK  CENSOR 


29 


being  practicable;  and  practicable  it  is  not,  save 
in  a  very  limited  degree.    So  mighty  is  the  flood 
of  light  literature  with  wliich  American  and  Eng- 
lish publishing  houses  are  deluging  the  country 
that  even  were  one  to  devote  his  time  to  nothing 
else,  he  could  not  give  the  most  cursory  examin- 
ation, the  merest  skimming,  to  one-tenth  of  the 
volumes  that  bid  for  public  favor.    Shall  the  pro- 
nouncements of  the  critical  reviews  be  accepted 
as  a  8t)?nd£\rd  sufllciently  safe?    As  to  the  artistic 
merits  or  defects  of  the  novel  discuised,  the  judg- 
ments of  such  reviews  may  be  entitled  to  some 
consideration;  but  as  to  the  practical  question 
whethe.'  the  novel  may  be  read  by  a  Catholic,  ond 
especially  a  young  Catholic,  with  some  profit  or 
ct  least  without  fear  of  injury,  they  are  generally 
worthless,  if  not  misleading.    The  briefer  notices 
given  in  the  ordinary  secular  magazines  and  in 
the  more  important  among  the  secular  papers  are 
equally  unsatisfactory.    Some  of  the  most  dan- 
gerous books  in  recent  fiction,  books  which  sap 
the  very  foundations  of  the  theological  virtues, 
have  been  lauded  by  such  censors  as  genuine  addi- 
tions to  the  literature  of  all  time,  priceless  gifts  of 
genius-dowered  mortals  to  a  world  which  in  jus- 
tice should  hold  their  names  in  perpetual  benedic- 
tion.   Lists,  like  Sir  John  Lubbock's,  of  the  best 
hundred  books,  however  valuable  as  helps  in  de- 
termining a  course  of  general  reading,  will  mani- 
festly prove  of  very  meagre  usefulness  in  aiding 
us  to  separate  the  scanty  wheat  from  the  super- 
abundant chaff  in  the  perennial  harvest  of  novels. 


30 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


m 


Such  prudent  guides  through  the  terrilorv  ^fT 
hon  are  the  book  reviewers  of  our  rfTh  T  "^ 
Jine^notably  the  lTe.tZa^T^:rZ 
Monll,.  the  ^.,.  W„m,  the  Catholic  WoZ7nd  Z 

U.at  one  ?u?ct7on  oflX  l^jru^ "oV^tS^h' 
sTiS  intrelts^  ^^^AST  ^'^ 

iou™ai"'r'L',/",™!^x''ir'thr"''  *"  '^-""'""^ 

exhaling  f™„  theT^°td  „e4irsecuT»;''''"" 
such  a  magazine  or  paner",  milf.h  .  ,"'  P""- 
.ity  in  eve?y  CatholHrus'  h^  wh"  ftstaooT 
.ance  a,  an  agent  co^peraUng  ;ith  te  pSn 


THE  PBIE8T  AS  BOOK  CENSOR 


81 


lioVnf"!""?"  °'  ""*'""  "•"">  »"<«  ">«  promo- 

»„i*.'i.^''""''i!''  '"'»<">ook.  Irealing  of  Ihe  heallhv 
all  .if  '""^^t'"""  '"  ""•''"n  flelion  «e  have 
in  B^.h  ']""  T"*.'^  "•""'  '•"Pf"'  will  be  found 
nB"^n,rM  "■'"'  if"'""  -"  "fi""".  «nd  Read- 

Novclfat.  ••    Th""  /"•""'  ^«""''  "Novel,  and 
novclMU.      The  extensive  reading,  broad  cullur* 

S  'd  :,i!r;  '\'  ■""'rp'-"'  ^-'p  oftind 

Brother  m.H^'''''     ""     "''"''"•'y     ChritUan 
Brother  made  him  an  especially  efllcicnt  mentor- 

wkieris' ,ha.\;r?^'  '"."""■'"« ""  '^^^^^^^ 

DOOKtet  IS  that  he  did  not  give  us  a  more  cooiou. 
outpouring  of  his,  intellectual  wealth  TX 
meanUme,  since  people  will  reud  Action  .1  i! 
«a,,ur,ng  to  have  his  authority  for  the  Icemen 
that  there  i.  no  dearth  of  novels  that  have  nassed 
the  ordeal  o   lime  and  are  pronounced  cZfc" 

Ur.  Egans  volume,  as  its  title  indicate.  I. 
more  directly  in  line  with  the  subject  o?Si,  paLer 
and  can  be  unreservedly  commended  to  those  to 
whom  we  write,  priests  who  would  acou°re  Jt 
second-hand,  some  notion  of  what  is  good  Lnd 
otherwise  among  the  novel,  in  our  lanJLage  H 
^11  increase,  rather  than  diminish.  theTaMca 
hon  of  those  who  consult  this  interesting  book  of 
erihcism  to  learn  that  the  hundred  and  odd  re 

wntten  for  very  young  people";  that  Dr  Eoan 
was  actuated  by  the  belief  "that  the  time  ha, 
amved  when  Catholic  American  literature  shouW 


32 


PRIESTLY  PEACTICE 


which  no  clever  you„,r«„  T^^Bo^^y  "orie, 
and  that  "he  Se,  f/^  ''"^""  "'  «a<Ung"; 
plying  a  Standard^  iuH^'T'"""8  "''""•''  »»P- 
which  may  be"f  usi  to^""'  T™'  ""^  '"«'-«'y. 

unwho.es„»eTnl  XS  a  •^""""'"""'  "' 

«e  quite  unobjecfionab  The 'w?  "  j'°7''^*' 
North,  whom  Wilkie  Coll7n.Ji,  y^^"'''  "'  'h^ 
and  convoluted    th^  CoIl,ns-he  of  the  involuted 

and  seeminSrnn  telEtT'  "'"'  *""'»8'-d 
styles  "the  glLouTw:"e?Sco1rK"'''"r"'=''"y 
and  President  of  noveHst?-  h  *'  ^"'P^^or. 

'"llied   with   misrepreselH       """''""a'  P«ges 
nuns,  and  with  travesUes  irrTh  v    '"°"'"   "'«' 
Thackeray,  whose  tSnspatn,  *    ',?  cf  emonies; 
cannot  hide  the  genuin??^!      ^^f'  °'  "ynidsm 
swelled  his  manly  heart  Z"^    ^■'  ^^"°^»  *at 
spoken  t»  suit  a  cuSd  ,   ?"«'""«  «oo  out- 
not  always  free  from  "        "*=  ''"'  '^'"^^"^  is 
ye.  in  thl^omoZyZT^:''  «"?.  -"'Sarity: 
decried,  virtue  never  sneirpH    r™'"^  "  "««■• 
iated.  if  not  insidiousi;  S,    •t°°,1  ^''^  P"'" 
il^appUcable.  a,  i.^uTdly  .^-aXbret 


I5^£2!5!Ld«  i-^-okcensob 


nine-tenths  of  the  novel   „i  .     , 

c«m  of  the  work?of  o. .  n    ;k"^''  •^"''""'^  <="«- 
"They  are  not  profltahl,  ■     V  ""'  """fraternity: 
for  ediflcaUon.C  bundin"'' ''°""'"'"'  '°''  "P'-oof 
»hape;  the  sick  heart  "iLIf  "^  ,*''=™''»«  in  any 
the  heroic  that  is Tn  aH  men  no"",;'' ■"""^  '"  "'^"'• 
voice."    Catholics  old  enough  tnh'"!  '"^^'"""'"g 
even  the  cleanest  of  our  er^l  h    f  '""'""'  '''"' 
need  fear  no  contam!natfor  v„t"^h"'"'P'P^'-^ 
Ivanhoe,"  "Waverlev  "  "kT^-        ^"'^  P^Bes  of 
Heart  of  Midlothian^  or  ^f  ".7,:"'-:  "■"■  '"T"^ 

earlier  oLs  ca„„if  h'  """"'"  '"«'  Bu'wer-Lytton's 

ner"  n,ay  be  read  w?ih  f^°'''  ""<•  "Silas  Mar- 
"Tl>e  Caxtons'"  -The  Las  n''-  "'  T^  '^^  ''"veV" 
"Rien.i."  To'  mentL^"!?;^:  «f  Pompeii,"  and 
""pores:    Anthony  Trollonll  *"  "^  'he  d,V 

volumes  possess  the  necaL?  """^^  ""**  «  •>««  of 
■nnoxiousness,  a  merit  nn.f  """'  "^  humdrum 
other  prolific  E„ghsh^^°'/^7^pV/red  by  that 

!!!:^'ack.s  "A  Dau«hte'rVHrih"-,'rf^  ^ 

i?°S'SS°'?  ""«S"a»°'  .?!,"■*■  '..  to  iwi  d,.       . 


34 


£5I5^™Y  PEACTICE 


is  one  of  the  few  °  a"),  g^e",  S'=^  '  "»f »  «"■•.•■ 
language.  Wilkie  CoHW  "Lmi  T  ''?'■''' '»  *' 
ter  than  „os.  of  hi,  ^r  o  "i:  ?'"''"  'j'"^'- 
and   Walter    Besant    „?f  i.  .  '^'''"'8''  Ebers 

books    may  ver?  nr„n„  ■  ''"'"'"'"arians    whose 

neglect  whL  .Kow'fo  r  J""'',^'''  "'■"■    '"» 
dith,  the  Brownine  of^.  1:    '''^°''8«  ^ere- 

writer  whose  ItyleVill  ir T'u""'  '''  «  ^'^ng 
than  his  matter  will  beneflMh/''"^.'"''°'"  '""^ 
Rider  Haggard's  stnsuo,?.!.        !  ordinary  reader, 
sionally  info  .eJuZyTT  t«''"<»-ati„g  occa- 
healthy  food  for  any  t'ind  t^d '"'  ""»,""=«»  """ 
3oung  one.    Howelfs  Ts  n'o,"ea«tT"'  ■"  "" 
claims  to  be,  or  at  least  surh  1  .•         '''='''""  •■« 
'erizes  'The  Ministe^^ Charge"''  Tm'/''''™'^- 
stance."  "The  Rise  of  Sil^w      u    *'"''""  In- 
World  of  Chance"  ?' .f''''^I;''P'•am"   and   "A 

altogether    differe't   from X^  "' .""  """""y 
painting  of  Emile  Zo  '  "nH^-  ''."'■'="<'«d    dirt- 

delightful  humor  of  Frank  stocl.""""!.""-  "^^ 
of  "Rudder  Grange  "  i,  ^„  Stockton,  the  author 
ness  or  irreveSe-  and  T  '"'"'  »'  P-oss- 
Bret  Harte.  Thos  H^rdv  rTI  ?'  ""^  «""■"  of 
and  Thos.  A.  Jan"  er^is"!"",'  '"'"'?  ^'evenson 
reading.  '  "  wholesomely  pleasant 

withlr^t;:'  s^r^le-te'  """^  "^  '"'"''—'' 
Humphrey  Ward  iZ  Vel  ^^^  '"™"°n  Mrs. 
lett.  Hall  Caint  Mar,^  c^"  L^e.  Maurice  Hew- 
Ouida,  Rhoda  B-^uZ"!  Be^rk^cTa^A^-- 


Rives  and  the  Ouchesi     tk.      j  ~ 

«o  the  same  caleson^  ,i;.,r  m  ^°  ""'  ""  '"^'ong 
from  anti-ChrS'  Lhil^  T"^  P™''"'^' ''•■"'get 
■nisUc  cynicism  InS  s^etaZ»r  ^""""^  P'^'' 
Mer  insipidity  dashed  wVih"  ™"  "*"•  «<> 
•>ess;  but  the  besrof  ihTi  „  "h*""  ""  ''''  '^d" 
merit  that  compr„'sa,es't  .'^s"fluHs ■"""""  "" 

••Car;nU--tet,^1^*^^^^^ 
synonymous  phrases'th  "r^  'T  S  ""'  '""'"^» 
security  engendered  by  eve„  thTu  """"  °' 
designation;  one  feels  tl..!.  .  '*  assertive 
are  in  favir  of  Zl  hf ,"  'r'  «ho  chances 
agnostic  vaporil,cc,,7„-^  '!"«  "''''^  f™"" 
reverent  in  tone     An  "'  '^'"'cncy,  and 

lieve,  are,  with  rare  e>  „,''  ^'^  ^S"  ''"PPy  '»  be- 
o/  Catholics  to  the  storf  ofT'  '^^•^''"'"'"■Hons 
enumerate  them  all  TnL  *'"''  «'=''<'"•    To 

a  partial  list  mryposb^vL"'"'.''."'^"''  ''"'^=  """ 
reading  has  run'nther'lt:  "'"  '"  '""^  -"o- 

iics,  we'^ha'vt  in"rdd;;i„rto'  t°h^  ""''''  "^  ^««"'- 
of  Dr.  Bari^,  Ca^on  Sheeti  mTr™"  ™'''-' 
John  Ayscough,  Wisem»n'.  "S'  ^*,  Benson,  and 
"Calista,"  and  "U^rj^^V  ■Z"^"'^"-  Newman's 
the  Sybils"  Marion  r  ,"  =  '^'""'^  "Di""  and 
"Sanf  Ilario'  ""ZTn  ^r^^-ford's   "Saracinesca," 

"A  Ci«are;?;.mat"r-s°r°;n  ^"1°"'  Pp-«^" 
and  "A  Roman  Sincer"  mI  ^  r,  ^"^  Patoff," 
Disappearance  of  John'  ?^  '"  ^^  ^««"'«  "The 
Success  of  Patrick  DesmonH"^r*^y"  ^"^  "The 
House  of  York^and  «? r?n  '  ^T  '^^"^^'"^  "The 
'    and    Grapes  and  Thorns";  Lady 


f1 


1 1 

11 


I 


'c 


if 


ut 


\.i 


36 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


Georgiana  FuIIerton's  "Constance  Sherwood."  "A 

a^d  "M:^  V"^'^:^  'Tr  ^*'^"«^  ^°*  *°  «-  True" 
and     Mra.  Gerald's  Niece";  Christian  Reid's  "A 

Heart  of  Steel,"  "Armine,"  "A  Child  of  Mary^' 
tio° 'J'"v  """^  rf    "C-'"-*^'"    "Philip's   Restltu- 

•Th;  n       ff  ^^f «"'"  ""^^^^  L^8^*  of  the  Vision," 
The  Daughter  of  a  Star,"  and  "A  Little  Maid  of 

O'MeX;^"^'^  f  ^"^'^  "Moondyn^-;  K^tn 
UMearas      Narka";    Mrs    Craven's    "A    Si^fpr'c 
Sto:y,"  Jliane,"  "Fleurange."  anS-'Lucie-  J  c 
Heywood-,    "Lady   Morton-    Rose    Mulhoiand^' 
The  Wicked  Woods  of  Tobevervil,"  "The  BVrds 
of  K.  leevy,"  and  "Marcella  Grace";  F.  S  D  Ames' 
••Marion  Howard,-  and  "Wishes  on  Win«"  Td 
no   to  be  tedious,  many  other  worthy  volum'es  by 
CalhoUcs  as  fervent  as  Mrs.  Dorsey  and  Anna  T 
Sadher  and  as  artistic  in  touch  as  Richard  Mai: 
colm  Johnston,  JusHn  McCarthy,  Frank  SpeanZ 
Henry  Harland,  and  Father  John  Talbot  Sm™h 
With   such   works   as    these   from   which    to 

?o«nTin  clthT^"'"""^  """  '"ere  shouW  be 
ir.v  "^  households  novels  whose  utter 

trashiness  can  serve  no   other   purpose   than   to 
g.ve  distorted  views  of  life  and  hlan  nata« 
becloud   the  spiritual  sight,   and   Iethargi"e   the 

Xl''T^  '1''  "*""  '°  '*'"  «"«=  novel-reader 
into  the  channels  of  legiUmate  fiction  may  easily 
be  a  rejd  duty  as  well  as  a  genuine  kindness  ft 
IS  superfluous  to  add  that  even  in  these  channels 
one  may  sail  too  constantly.  Fiction  should  be 
the  condiment  of  mental  food:  to  use  it  as  a  prin! 
cipal  article  of  diet  is  to  produce  mental  ansmla- 


THE  PRIEST  AS  BOOK  CENSOR  37 


and  to  partake  of  it  alone,  to  the  exclusion  of  more 
substantial  aliment,  is  to  court  intellectual  starva- 
tion.   A  mind  fed  solely  with  novels— even  the 
best  novels— can  no  more  preserve  its  vigor  and 
robustness  than  can  a  body  fed  solely  with  ice 
cream  and  bon-bons.    As  an  occasional  relaxa- 
tion from  mental  work,  the  reading  of  a  good 
novel  may  have  its  rightful  place  in   the  best- 
ordered   life;    as   a   cor'^tant  occupation   during 
every  hour  of  leisure  that  can  be  earned  or  stolen 
such  reading  is  a  real  injury  to  the  intellectual 
and  spiritual  faculties,  and  moreover   an   inex- 
cusable waste  of  time. 


Ill 

SACERDOTAL  ENNUI 

s«ousn«,«  that  he  has  doners  ^t^sl'dnTsmUk!'''''  ''''  '=°°- 

beyJn<rJou"r  Srt  ^SV^eSm^s  \'?/;i'^  ^^*!:  "^  ^"^  »'  ?'««* 
70U  dwindle,  alike  in  intellectual^  the  waste  of  it  will  make 
darkest  reckinings.-r  J  oSjJe         *'  '***"*'  ''"^""^  y°" 

IN  few  paradoxes  does  a  more  sterling  truth 
1     underlie  an  apparent  absurdity  than  in  th" 

than   to  rust  out."  and   Shakespeare  nTinimizes 
rather  than  exaggerates  when  he  says!  "'^"^ 

"If  all  the  year  were  playing  holidays, 
To  sport  would  be  as  tedious  as  to  work;  " 

for  while  the  golden  mean  is  undoubtedly  a  iudi 
Clous  admixture  of  work  and  plav    it  I  p1«  i 
^monstrable  that  habitual  indotn'ce^  s^frfugi^ 
^th  far  more    unhappiness    than    is    incSsant 
activity.    The  toiler  whose  mind  or  body  ^  en 
gaged  from  daylight  to  dark  in  a  constant  round 

38 


SACERDOTAL  ENNUI 


39 


of  drudgeiy  may  not  be  an  enviable  mortal,  but 
his  lot  IS  distinctly  preferable  to  that  of  the  lan- 
guor-stricken do-nothings  who  lie 

"Stretched  on  the  rack  of  a  too  easy  chair, 
And  by  their  everlasting  yawns  confess 
The  pains  and  penalties  of  idleness." 

And  yet,  miserable  as  is  the  condition  of  the 
sufferer  from  ennui,  he  does  not  generally  elicit, 
nor  does  he  at  all  deserve,  the  compassion  of  his 
fellows;  for  ennui  is  a  disease  whose  attacks  he 
who  wills  may  readily  foil,  and  one  of  which 
every  man,  however  severely  stricken,  is  compe- 
tent to  cure  himself.    If  there  is  one  victim  of  the 
complaint  less  pitiable,  because  less   excusable, 
than  another,  it  is  assuredly  the  man  who  has 
more  than  sufficient  real  duties  fully  to  occupy 
the  time  which,  unemployed,  hangs  heavily  on 
his  hands,  who  finds  life  weary,  monotonous,  "flat, 
stale,  and  unprofitable,"  not  because  he  has  noth- 
ing to  do,  but  because  he  shirks  the  doing  of  what 
ought  to  keep  him  busy.    Now  few  men,  it  would 
seem,  can  so  constantly  find  worthy  employment 
ready  to  their  hand  as  can  the  priest;  yet  it  is  to 
be  feared  that  the  title  of  this  essay  is  descrip- 
tive of  a  condition  not  altogether  phenomenal, 
nay,  that  even  a  cursory  review  of  the  clerical 
ranks  would  disclose  not  a  few  cases  of  intermit- 
tent, if  not  chronic,  sacerdotal  ennui. 

If  this  statement,  on  the  face  of  it,  appears 
somewhat  odd,  it  is  probably  because  the  reader 
IS  still  more  or  less  dominated  bv  a  venerable 


40 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


tradition  handed  down  from  the  days  of  our  pio- 
neer missionaries.    According  to  this  tradition,  the 
pnest  is  a  man  whose  normal  condition  is  one  of 
overwork     The  demands  upon  !,is  time  are  so 
multiplied,  so  continuous,  and  so  urgent  that  he 
rarely  has  a  minute  which  he  can  call  his  own. 
What  with  sick-calls.  the  confessional,  the  charit- 
able visitation  of  his  parishioners,  and  the  worri- 
some administration  of  temporal  affairs,  his  en- 
ergies are  taxed  to, the  utmost;  and  if  "the  poor 
man    can  snatch  from  these  imperative  duties  an 
hour  or  two  of  leisure  during  which  to  think  over 
his  weekly  instruction,  it  is  fully  as  much  as  he 
can  accomplish. 

There  seems  to  exist,  also,  an  amiable  con- 
spiracy   among    Catholic    editors,    and    Catholic 

Z\r%*r^'''*"y'  1°  ^^'^P*  *^^^  traditional  esti- 
mate of  the  pastor's  ordinary  occupation  as  cor- 
rect and  thus  to  foster  the  opinion  that  the  priest- 
hood IS  a  profession  whose  members  habitually 

eZuy„";"fH  "''  ''"^^*^'  ^^^'•t^^inS  their  brains! 

wnrt?^«^?  'i''  "^'^°"'  ^y"*^'"^'  «nd  literally 
working  themselves  to  death.    No  notice  of  a  new 

volume  of  sermons,  for  instance,  appears  to  be  com^ 

plete  without  some  such  comment  as :     "The  book 

TxhauX?!  '5?''"  *,°  *^'  oyerworked  pastor  whose 
exhausting  labors  leave  him  scant  leisure  for  the 
preparation  of  his  Sunday  discourse;"  and  most 
references  to  the  clergy,  whether  in  the  Cath^Hc 
paper  or  the  Catholic  novel,  are  calculated  to  con- 


SACERDOTAL  ENNUI 


41 


^^^T'.'^'''^^''''^  accurate  this  notion  of  the 
pnestly  hfe  may  onc-^  ha  'c  been,  when  pastor^ 
were  few  and  parishes  comprised  ;hoIe  counts 
however  approximate  to  truth  it  still  is  as  to  many 
zealous  pnests,  notably  those  in  large  ctirn 
must,  we  think,  be  conceded  that  as  f  n  e  Umate 

day  the  notion  is  not  a  little  exaggerated 

An   examination  of  the  most  comprehensive 
mortuary  statistics  will  hardly  disclose  the^ct 
that  the  majority  of  priests,  or  indeed  any  appre 
ciable  number  of  them,  "die  at  the  top.^^or'^suC 
cumb  to  the  nervous  exhaustion  cons'^quent  on 

fati^'e^^^  ^!,°^-««"-»-  -d  p'rolong^S 
latigue.  In  the  ordinary  routine  of  the  pastoral 
life  the  priest  is  not  forever  attending  sick-calls 

S^a'tif^H^T  *°  importunate  parishionei' 
VIS  ting  the  schools,  su,,  rvising  the  erection  of 

equally  exacting  parochial  duties  that  rob  him  of 
^1  leisure.    The  desirability  of  such  surplus  Lr 
may  be  a  matter  of  opinion,  its  non-exia^ence  in 
the  average  sacerdotal  life  is  a  matter  of  fact 
Apart  from  particular  seasons  of  the  ecclesi- 

"me  Jh "'  r'  ^^  ^'^"''t^^-tide  and  Pascha  . 
time  when  the  pressure  of  work  is  unusually 
great,  even  the  busiest  city  priest  has  a  fair  amoum 

itT  ^''  *^  ^°"°*^  P«"«h  i«  assuredly  not 
to  wWch  i::^  "'*/?  '  multiplicity  of  avocations 
to  which  irrespective  of  his  inclinations,  he  must 
devote  his  time.    Of  imperative  duties    in  Tact 


42 

than  too  m^ny   and  honr.™h    •■"  '""  ''^'  '^*^» 
fo  suffer  from  Ihc  ,„,idior„    ,!'  T'""'^"'y  "able 

aaccrdotal  enm7  "  «"""  ""=  "ame  of 

pa.tora*I  duties  he  ZZlHur"""'  ""  °"  ""' 
".and  during  i,  least  Ave  d'/;?  ,1'  "''  I""'- 
considerable  amnimi  „i-   •         i  '"'  ^eek,  a 

siUon  dependnnH^elv  ,  . " ''  ^  "'"'=''  '"«  dispo- 
".ually  L  of  six  e^^Vo-u';  ''nT"'  "''  '"''"' 
perhaps  onc-flfih  „f  ,h„.  .•       .    '  °"  ''"  a^'frage, 

eon-espondence  and  the  tr-r  '.•  ""^"'"'  '"'  *'» 
all  kinds.    Morn1n«  „4„  'i'.°"  "'  '""''«■«  "f 

•hanksglvinHo  n"f  J'™7"'.,'"«d"««<>n.  Mass  and 

an  houfand  a  ha?f     ltT%""'""T  "">«  'han 
recitation  of  the  Divine  om  ^"  *"""•  '<"•  ">« 

and  a  half  for  a  vis  ,1,^"%.'""'  T"'^"  •■<»"• 

the  beads.  »Piri.ua7re'aI*\^iS.iorT^"'- 
science,  and  niirh*  «-  examination  of  con- 

minimiii'g  ,he  t™  of  «  "'^  7^  P™'"""^  "<" 
granting  .hre:  ro^^lrr'al  "'aS!?'^'  """•  '" 
physical  exercise,  we  concludl  .„     .•     "«''=«»»T 
liberal  rather  than  niMardly     TO,?"T,  '  """  " 
at  the  disposition  of  ^ZT^'  .       "  "^'  ""ain 
hours  of  his  day    and  on  Ih""  "^ ''.'^'="  """»"  »« 
employment  of'^'thls  lehureM T'  "■•  ""^'^^ 
his  habitual  sereX  or  Cu.fe  »  .''''r'''''"^ 
ness  or  ennui.  ""qmetude,  his  cheerful- 

How  may  this  free  Ume  be  best  utilized?    As 


_?ACBRDOTALENNUI 


«o  a  considerable  portion  of  it  iu 

question.    It  should  kTH         *'  ^^^'^^  can  bo  no 

not  bebeve."  says  the  Sn  ^'T'^  »°  «»"<^y.     "I  do 
:^h^i  a  greater"  „*-u^'^^^^^^  Father  Macl.: 

«  render  useless    h^desL.     fZ"  '"  ^'°^  »'^«" 
«o    trample   underfoot    hT  "'"  Providence. 

;"ands.  to  content  L^  ?'?*  P**^'^'^'"""  ^^ni- 
His  sovereign  niajestv  1^°'*  /.'""''^"  ^'^''^a^^  of 
done  by  the  pries  wh„  h  "^^  ""^  "  i»«t  what  is 
«tudy.»  Virtue  shoT.?d  br„r*  "P'^^>'  »"">-'f  to 
guishing  character^  of  "u""'^'  ^'^^^  d^«tin. 

to  the  service  of  God    K^f  """  ^'^^  '^  consecrated 

"cnt  degree,  is  not  th;  si  '    "^'  .r'^^"  ^'"  «"  -'"i" 
priest.  ^"^^  ^°^c  requisite  of  the  model 

""  owledge   and  piety"  snv«   q,    t> 
SuK.,    are  the  two  eves  of  fh    ^L  ^*-   ^''^"cis  of 
because,  according  to  the  ^  ''''^'"*  ecclesiastic; 
brated  council. '«"*/!  *'i"/'^P''e««on  of  a  cele- 

facit,  ita  vita  linTltta^^^^^^^  -^ta  arrogantem 
have  already  assumed  In  Th"  "^^  ''^^^'^'  "  We 
given  of  thepartiUon  nf  h-  ^'^timate  we  have 

Priest  possessera  not  inconsid'n^'^^'  "^^»  °- 
«o  there  need  be  no  scrun?.  •      !i^  '  ^""^  ^^  P^cty; 
quire  all  the  knowleda/1  '\«,^^»»°«  him  lo  ac- 
Supposing  him  e^^^'fd  12    'l  *h'"  "''P-'*^- 
nion  sense  the  danger  of  Til  i    '""^^^"n^  of  com- 
so  extraordinan-  a"  to  enJ^l,  ^''"'"^'^  becoming 
not   sufficientl/  p'^xLTfe   t  '"  P"?^  ^^  P^^bapf 
grave  fears;  a':ld^n Tp'y  J^e  ITt^   ^"^   ^^^ 
knowledge,  even  at  the  risk  of  in  •^'''  ^r'"'*  "^ 
;s  preferable  to  stupid  vegetaln  "     "*"^  '^"^^'*' 
that  may  well  become  ZZm         '"  ^^"'"""^^ 


44 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


j^l 


rJl  r    I   I'u^^}^  ^"^  *"***  **^«*  «  ?»•*«•»  ^ho  has 
conceived   the  idea   that  his  days  of  obligatory 

study    terminated    with    his   seminary    life,    and 

l!Zi  [V"^-^"^^'  «"  "«'y  Scripture,  dogmatic  and 
moral  theology,  canon  law,  etcIcHiastical  history, 
he  councils,  and  sacred  eloquence  have  accord- 
Ingly  been  assigned  to  a  condition  of  "innocuous 
desuetude"  in  a  rarely  disturbed  bookcase,  nos- 
sesses  a  sadly  inadequate  notion  of  what  is  de- 
manded by  the  dighity  and  sanctity  of  the  profes- 
sion which  he  has  embraced.     Granting  that  his 
course  of  studies  in  college  and  seminary  was  even 
exceptionally  brilliant,  and  that,  when  ordained, 
h.s  knowledge  of  the  foregoing  subjects  was  as 
unifornily  thorough  as  it  is  occasionally  superfi- 
cial, the  reviewing  of  them  all  from  time  to  time, 
at  least  m  his  texl-books,  if  not  in  more  compre- 
hensive  reatises.  would  still  be  a  peremptory  duty 
rather  than  an  optional  task;  for  without  such 
review  he  cannot  competently  discharge  his  func- 
tions m  either  the  confessional  or  the  pulpit 

Some  portion  of  a  priest's  spare  time,  then, 
should  be  devoted  to  serious  strdy.  Prolonged 
apphcation  of  the  mental  faculties,  however,  is 
unquestionably  fatiguing.  Most  of  us  yield  a 
ready  assent  to  the  dictum  of  Ecclesiastes.  "Much 
study  IS  an  affliction  of  the  flesh."  and  so  the 
deliberate  acquisition  of  knowledge  need  not 
monopolize  the  leisure  of  even  the  most  consci- 
entious clergyman.  Another  occupation  to  which 
several  hours  a  day  may  well  be  given,  is  one 
closely  connected  with  study,  and  indeed  often 


SACERDOTAL  ENNUI 


4S 


identical  with  it— solid  rcadintf     m«  i 

dmac^na  ?        *"""■  ''"°*  ""'  '"•■•'^•'on'  of  .lowly 

ll'c  Sacramento,"  .ay.  Brother  AzarL    -'l  [„ 
no  greater  .olacc  to  the  ,ml  th^n  .1:        1   " 
word,  of  a  good  book"  n„rt  i.  'h"  '"olh'ng 

an  prie...  eo^d  trthW^'a.T    h""  "'"  " 

.00  miyj'rtr^tetuantafrr-  "--■"•"•  -« 

fnn  um  lu    .       quantity;  but  sonic  read  with 

rre''2;'ti:  tl'T^  ° '•^''^"-  ■" "ruS."  de! 
hlw.      I,      ^^"^  """^  misehievou.  by  fosterino 

there'are  In  crn"^  ^'  the  matter  read,  just  as 
mere  are  in  Chicago,  according  to  a  recent  mn«n 
zine    writer,    "circles    in    whiM,    ♦  ?     ^^®" 

(above  the  evel  sav  nf  fK^n  u"*  ""^"^  "°^*^^« 
Mr  R««V  •  ;  1:  .^'  °^  ^^^  Duchess,'  or  the  late 
Mr.  Roe)  IS  to  be  thought  'litemrv'  o«^       '. 

the  heights  of  culture  "so  ini^.f^  T*^  °" 


46 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


i 


It  may  be  extravagant  to  assert  that  the  reading 
of  sonie  pnests.  apart  from  the  Breviary,  is  re- 
stricted  to  "the  papers"   and   novels    S  ^ft^n 
trashy  as  good),  it  is  certainly  within  the  limits  of 
truth  to  say  that  far  too  much  time  is  wasted  on 
^tr^^nrT*  productions.     Any  man,  not  bent 
with  mahce  aforethought  on  killing  time,  can  read 
his  daily  paper  in  from  ten  to  twenty  minutes; 
and  the  perusal  of  even  a  good  novel  should  be 
looked  upon  as  mferely  the  infrequent  reward  of 
exhausting  mental  work.    There  is,  of  course,  one 
species  of  penodical  literature  which  the  priest 
not  only  may.  but  should  read,  of  which  indeed 
he  cannot  afford  to  deprive  himself-the  ecclesi- 
asbcal  magazme-such  a  publication  as  the  Irish 
Ecclesiastical  Record  or  the  Ecclesiastical  Review. 

nr,I?i   ?°      '"  «^*»*^«t^on  to  which  a  portion  of 
priestly  leisure  may  profitably  be  given  up,  is  the 
producing  of  hterature-writing.    No  priest,  we 
take  1     IS  less  liable  to  become  the  victim  ^? 
ennui  than  he  who,  in  his  spare  hours,  becomes 
a  1  terary  worker.    Whether  he  be  engaged  in 
evo  ving  a  book  of  his  own  or  reviewing  that  of 
another,  composing  a  sermon  or  a  lecture,  writing 
a  magazine  article  or  a  sketch  for  the  diocesan 
journal,  or  even  scribbling  verse  that  he  would 

too  swift,  and  welcomes  abundant  leisure  as  a 
blessing,  not  a  burden.  If  half  the  time  which 
some  ecclesiastics  spend  in  "indolent  vacuity  of 

tw^  '  ?u  '^^'''^  **^"y  ^"«^'-  «^«y  «n  trifles 
that  are   the  merest   masks   for  idleness,   were 


as  beneficial  to  the  0>Th„i^'  "'f,.™"'"  would  be 
the  write«  themtlves     °      "•"""=  "'  """""^  '« 

poiiTz:z:t  ^rbe°  w-r  *- 

there  is  no  tenrf..n^„  .    ■  "®  enumerated,  as 

them  too  slldom  '^S?„!r°"  '5.""  °'  ">  ™P'oy 
have  been  !„sred  «Z\''^^^'''«  «"<'  siting 
think,  the  atocaUons  most^'nT''  ""=^  ''™-  ''^ 
sacerdotal   oharaZ  "n":     h        '?°"y  ^"'  "-e 

greater  portion  of  an  ecclestttt-  °.  ""''=''    ""^ 
best  be  devoted     i„       '^<='='esiastic  s  leisure  may 

tion  of  whatever  k  nd T/-  ""'^  •""'"=™'  «"=<='"?■•- 
soul  and  body  than  il,/"'^''"'"'''''^  better  for 

lent  man  hasVh„„Jred  temr?"'^'    '^"^  '■"'°- 
man's  one- and  «n^ri?     temptations  to  (he  busy 

'hut.  eve„irtS:;ss: "°' """""« ">  •"•°- 

"8.1..  tod.  «,„  „i„M,,  ,„„  ,„  ,^,^  ^^  ^  ^^    _ 


IV 


I 


'€■. 


THE  METHODICAL  PRIEST  AND  HIS 
OPPOSITE 

Ordo  ducit  ad  Deum. — 8t.  Augiutine. 

Method  is  like  packing  things  in  a  box;  a  good  packer  wiU 
get  in  half  as  much  again  as  a  bad  one. — Cecil. 

aJ^}3  ^^l.^^Pf pence  of  every  man  who  has  either  combated 
difficulties  himself  or  attempted  to  guide  others  through  them, 
that  the  controlling  law  shall  be  systematic  action.— Pr.  Kane. 

IF  a  life  spent  worthily  ought  to  be  measured  by 
1  "deeds,  not  years,"  the  orderly  man  of  forty 
has  practically  lived  as  long  as  his  unmethodical 
neighbor  of  three  score  and  ten.  A  hundred- 
weight of  energy  applied  with  system  is  more 
effective  than  a  ton  discursively  expended;  and 
an  essential  requisite  to  success  in  any  profession 
or  calling  is  the  habit  of  taking  up  one's  various 
duties  in  regular  order,  of  intelligently  allotting 
a  time  for  all  things  and  then  seeing  to  it  that 
everything  be  done  in  its  proper  time.  That  a 
lack  of  method  in  the  prosecution  of  any  mer- 
cantile business  will  inevitably  result  in  failure 
and  ruin,  is  a  truth  which  the  revelations  of  in- 
solvency courts  have  made  a  truism;  and  it  needs 
no  special  keenness  of  vision  to  perceive  the 
significance  of  this  truth  in  other  pursuits  than 
commerce  or  to  note  its  verification  in  other  dis- 
asters than  bankruptcy. 

In  no  profession,  perhaps,    is    this    habit    of 

48 


THE  METHODICAL  PRIEST 


49 


methodical,  systemaUc  perfomiance  of  duUes 
more  indispensable  than  in  the  priesthood.  The 
vaned  occupations  to  which  the  pastor  must  neces! 
sanly  give  his  attention,  and  the  multrplied^n- 
stances  in  which  his  pre-arranged  plans  are  un- 
avoidably upset  by  the  emergencies  incidentaUo 
his  calling,  render  it  all  the  more  important  tha° 

fixed  t",'  7"'""^  "  "  P"«=«e«We.  adhere  to  a 
f^xed  way  of  procedure  in  the  routine  of  his  dMly 
life.  Such  action  is  no  less  essential  to  his  per- 
sonal sanctification  than  to  the  effective  discharge 
of  his  obligations  toward  those  entrusted  to  his 
spiritual  guidance;  a  contrary  course  canno?  but 

The  author  of  that  excellent  handbook  for  the 

Among  the  means  proper  to  aid  the  priest  in 
rapidly  attaining  the  sancUty  exacted  by  hfastate 

.  t/t  ",''""  ?k'  «'•""  *'"<='"'»'=y'  "commended  by 
the  saints  as  the  easiest  and  safest  road  by  which 
to  reach  that  goal-the  faithful  and  constat  oIh 
senrance  of  a  rule  of  Ufe  drawn  up  ,^ft  care 

One  great  advantage  which,  on  the  face  of  it.  this 
scheme  of  life  affords,  is  the  certitude  that  in  o^ 

.Tre.Il  ''°*.°'"  '""'•'^'y  '"  «>«  "»"»  fea- 

tures, the  more  prominent  duties  of  life,  but  even 

m  Its  minor  details  and  most  indiiferent  acti-ons 

To  occupy  one's  time,  not  as  the  whim  or  caprice 

of  the  moment  may  suggest,  but  as  the  tenS^of 


50 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


I 


a  specific  rule  prescribe,  is  to  share  the  privilege 
of  the  faithful  religious  who  can  say  with  Christ: 
"I  do  always  the  things  that  please  my  Father." 
Apart,  however,  from  this  important  question 
of  attaining  the  degree  of  sanctity  which  his  pro- 
fession demands  of  him,  the  priest  will  find  that 
upon  the  systematic  or  haphazard  arrangement 
of  his  work  depends  in  no  small  measure  the 
facility  or  difficulty  with  which  it  is  accomplished, 
and  the  less  or  greater  amount  of  worry  which 
it  occasions  him.  The  methodical  priest  not  only 
does  far  mus  wotk  than  his  desultory  brother 
cleric,  but  h«:  does  it  with  far  more  ease  and  with 
a  serene  equanimity  to  which  the  latter  is  most 
frequently  a  stranger.  Want  of  method  means 
duties  always  accumulating,  and  sometimes  neg- 
lected; and  with  the  consciousness  of  such  neglect, 
peace  of  mind  is,  or  -t  least  ought  to  be,  incom- 
patible. 

So  necessary,  indeed,  is  a  well-ordered  system 
to  the  thorough  discharge  of  a  pastor's  manifold 
duties,  that  its  absence  can  be  supplied  neither  by 
exceptional  cleverness  and  brilliancy  of  parts, 
nor  by  intermittent  outbursts  of  genuine  zeal 
Inconstant  genius  can  never  successfully  cope 
with  plodding  mediocrity;  and  spasmodic  energy, 
taking  off  its  coat  at  irregular  intervals  to  "pitch 
into"  the  piled  up  arrears  of  postponed  work,  is 
at  best  but  a  sorry  and  inadequate  substitute  for 
the  methodical  industry  which  takes  up  its  tasks 
in  their  allotted  seasons  and  quietly  disposes  of 
them  from  hour  to  hour  and  day  to  day. 


THE  METHODICAL  PRIEST 


51 


»^Zl  ^^^°?«  convinced  of  the  fact  that  there  are 
members  of  the  clergy  whose  industry  is  spas- 
Zt'Z  ?K  •"■  ?""  systematic,  few  priests  need 
extend  their  observation  beyond  their  own  im- 

^^P«S  .r*"*^:  '°  ^""^"^  *^°^^  °f  their  clerical 
whnJ''  **^^^^/f.  Prob«Wy  one  individual  at  least 
whose  way  of  life  can  be  called  methodical  only 
1  f  ''^f  *'^f  «^°se  that  it  is  characterized  by 
a  systeniatic  disregard  of  all  method  whatsoever 
On  Sundays,  it  is  true,  services  are  held  in  his 

''7^^»,"*  '!**"**  *^°""'  *»»*  o°  week-days,  pro! 
yided  Mass  be  celebrated  some  Ume  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  the  office  recited  within  the  twenty-four 
houre.  he  is  apparently  of  the  opinion  that  "the 
rest  18  all  but  leather  or  prunello";  and  his  man- 

part  in  that  species  of  pedestrianism  termed  the 
go-as-you-please." 

unJ^^l  T^  T^  ''^^*'"y  *«*^'^y  h^^seJf  that  such 
hn^  K°?r^  "^°  ^'■^  *°  he  found  in  the  clerical 
body,  but  the  explanaUon  of  the  fact  is  far  from 
being  as  obvious  as  its  existence.  Speculatively 
considered,  the  unsystematic  priest  might  well  be 
regarded  as  a  monstrosity,  a  striking  instance  of 
abnormal  growth  and  development.  In  view  of 
the  training  to  which  every  aspirant  to  the  ecclesi- 
hL^hU  ^  '•  ''*^''*'^  ^""°«  *he  years  when 
^H«n?  J  ♦  !k  '*  '"^  ^"''  *^«*  P*«^*^^  c^'^dition  best 
adapted  to  the  process  of  moulding,  it  would  seem 

natural  that  the  priest,  above  all  men.  should  b" 

ac«nn      Tf         "^°'"°"'  .«**herence  to  systematic 
action.    If  ever  one  is  justified  in  expecting  the 


52 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


verification  of  the  proverb,  "A  young  man,  accord- 
ing to  his  way,  even  when  he  is  old,  he  will  not 
depart  from  it,"  we  may  surely  look  for  order  and 
method  in  one  who  has  passed  his  boyhood, 
youth,  and  dawning  manhood  in  the  habitual  ob- 
servance of  rules  as  comprehensive  and  minute 
as  those  of  the  college  and  the  seminary.  That 
such  a  training  should  occasionally  produce  the 
mere  formalist  who  seems  to  imagine  that  he  was 
made  for  his  rule,  ijot  the  rule  for  him,  and  whose 
cast-iron  methods  remain  impliable  under  all 
circumstances— this  is  intelligible  enough;  but  that 
a  decr.de  or  a  decade  and  a  half  of  years  spent  in 
an  atmosphere  thoroughly  impregnated  with  the 
spirit  of  regularity  should  yield  for  result  a  char- 
acter the  very  antipodes  of  the  formalist,  may  well 
excite  surprise. 

Whatever  be  the  explanation  of  unmethodical 
habits  in  the  priest— whether  they  are  the  out- 
come of  revolt  against  long-continued  restraint, 
or  manifestations  of  natural  tendencies  too  strong 
for  education  effectively  to  curb,  or  merely  modes 
of  procedure  into  which  the  ecclesiastic  has  care- 
lessly and  almost  unconsciously  drifted— one 
thing  is  certain,  he  cannot  exert  himself  too  vig- 
orously in  his  endeaver  to  get  rid  of  them  as 
speedily  as  possible.  Until  he  does  so,  intelligently 
systemaUzing  not  only  his  parochial  work,  but  his 
personal  devotions  and  even  the  pastimes  of  his 
leisure,  he  may  rest  assured  that  he  has  neither 
attained  his  greatest  possible  efficiency  as  a  pastor, 


THE  METHODICAL  PRIEST 


53 


ine  parish  priests  modeling  his  life  upon  that  of 
the  collegian,  the  seminarian,  or  the  reliriom 
The  very  nature  of  the  active  ministry  in  whShh^ 
»  engaged  precludes  the  possibility  of  suciun^ 
form  regularity  as  i,  quite  feasibre  i„  fte  »""-" 
inary  or  monastery;  and  a  rule  to  be  adantedTn 
his  use  must  be  drawn  upon  broader  Unef  m„.^ 
pre-suppose  and  take  account  of  numerous  o^. 

errdld'^li;:  V^rt  "^"  nece^^r/beTsI 

noT  ^a^ ieT  HSrin '  The  'b^  ''  r'^^^^ 
would  probably  be  ma"det"hfs    u  eSrsiffl' 

Sh:rTnteL*r"r«  *'*  -"^ /™,ra": 

cX.S;m»:,rr  :ues""^^  'he  ac. 

Th?^      '"•*"»'y  day,  and  observe  how  poSv 

z  srhr/ptcTreo":*"-^ '- "»-""' 

mind  and  ^•^n^rZ^t^^rT^^^r^^ ^J 


64 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


case  of  the  priest  it  is  very  liable,  in  addition,  to 
be  more  or  less  detrimental  to  health  of  soul.    In 
every  well-ordered  parish  daily  Mass  is  celebrated 
at  a  fixed  hour— six,  half-past  six  or  seven  o'clock, 
according  as  the  pastor  mny  decide.    If  we  credit 
the  pastor  with  a  very  moderate  degree  of  zealous- 
ness  for  the  welfare  of  his  people,  the  particular 
hour  will  be  determined,  not  so    much   by    the 
priest's  personal  convenience  as  by  that  of  the 
majority  of  his  flock,  supposing  them  to  be  desir- 
ous (as  it  is  his  du^  to  see  that  they  should  be) 
of  attending  the  holy  sacrifice.    Now,  properly  to 
acquit  himself  of  his  morning  devotions,  he  should 
get  up  an  hour,  or  at  least  three-quarters  of  an 
hour  before  Mass-time.    Unless  he  makes  it  a  point 
to  do  so,  he  will  gradually  fall  into  the  habit  of 
shortening  his  meditation,  of  postponing  it  to  some 
indefinite  later  period  in  the  day,  or  of  omitting 
it  entirely.    To  get  out  of  bed  only  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes  before  vesting  for  Mass  is  very  surely  to 
begin  the  day  badly;  yet  nothing  is  more  certain 
than  that  many  days  will  be  just  so  begun  by  the 
priest  who  does  not  habitually  rise  at  a  given 
hour.     To  suppose  that  the  priest  makes  small 
account  of  occasionally  omitting  his  daily  medita- 
tion, or,  still  worse,  that  it  is  his  established  cus- 
tom to  disregard  this  means  of  sanctification,  is 
to  suppose  a  man  in  a  condition  of  spiritual  de- 
bility that  urgently  demands  some  such  tonic  as 
a  serious  retreat.    There  can  scarcely  be  an  apter 
instance  of  the  "blind  leading  the  blind"  than  a 
pastor  to  whom  has  been  entrusted  the  guidance 


of  «ml,.  and  who  is  himself  neglectful  of  mental 
cntll  l^^  t"'^.^''  difficulty  of  rising  promptly  is 
oer,  tiie  man  of  method  will  naturally  obsprvp 

~wel/r^r"°&  J-*  how  m'ucL^tp'^e 
win  do  well  to  allow  himself  depends  a  good  deal 

upon  his  age  and  temperament     The  fuSfor  of 

'Jll/^'^'f  ,^^^^-^ook  from  which  we  have  a° 

slee/ nTtts';  T'  **?'*  '^  P"^«*  '^^^^^  commonly 
hnf '^^  i^  /^"°  '"  °''  '"O'-e  than  seven  hours- 
bu    m  the  rule  of  life  which  he  proposes    nm' 

nap  of  from  half  an  hour  to  double  that  time  The 
ordmary  clergyman  will  perhaps  find  thTt  ei^ht 

lessTh  "lu'f''  ''  '""y  «»  ™"^h  as  he  requires • 
less  than  that  amount,  especially  if  he  is  a  dfli' 
gent  mental  worker,  is  pretty  su're  to  blinsul" 

of  furnl^re^lr  f"^^'  I  ^^^^  ^™P«'*«°t  aHicle 

clock      aT  ^  P"^'*  *  bedroom  is  an  alarm 

ciocK.     As  a  good  start  is  hnif  ♦!,«  i         "*"*"» 

Offl!^!  ^     ^  recurring  obUgalion,  the  divine 

.Waited  eTr'l  r'l*^  '°"  **••  -"^^rafng  a  "^ 

read  the  htUe  hours  at  one  appointed  time,  yes- 


S6 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


pere  and  compline  at  another,  and  matins  and 
lauds  at  yet  another,  certainly  lightens  the  labor 
of  their  recitation;  and  he  is  obviously  more  apt 
to  acquit  himself  of  his  task  "digne,  attente.  de- 
vole"  than  is  his  procrastinating  neighbor  who, 
after  repeated  postponements,  finally  takes  up  his 
breviary  an  hour  or   two   before   midnight    and 
reads  from  "Venite,  adoremus"  to  "Nunc  dimittis" 
at  a  sitting.    Method  should  be  applied  to  the  reci- 
tation of  the  canonical  hours  to  assure  the  avoid- 
ance, not  only  of  the  worry  occasioned  by  the 
consciousness  of  a^  imperative  duty's  remaining 
unaccomplished,  but  of  a  precipitancy  in  its  ac- 
comphshment  that  too  often  gives  point  to  a  re- 
mark  df  Father  Neumayr:   "We   pray   to   God. 
Domme,  ad  adjuvandum    me    festinp '    not    'ad 
festinandum  me  adjuva.'" 

Concerning  such  devotional  exercises  as  a  visit 
to  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  spiritual  reading,  the 
beads,  or  the  Way  of  the  Cross,  the  difference  be- 
tween assigning  specified  hours  for  their  perform- 
ance and  resolving  in  a  vague,  general  manner  to 
attend  to  them  "some  time  in  the  course  of  the 
day,  •  IS  very  often  the  difference  between  the 
observance  and  the  omission  of  thes**  practices  of 
piety.  Unfortunately,  too,  with  the  man  who  sub- 
jects himself  to  no  rule  oth  •  than  the  caprice  of 
a  passing  mood,  the  omission  is  far  more  liable 
than  the  observance  to  become  habitual. 

So,  also,  with  the  preparation  of  sermons. 
Ihere  IS  ordinarily  no  real  reason  why  the  pastor 
should  not  begin  on  Morday  the  work  of  com- 


THE  METHODICAL  PHIE8T 


57 


jKxing  hi.  weekly  in.trucUon,  to  the  extent    at 
Hne  of  thought  to  be  pumued.    If  he  i.  an  orderW 

tTa"  "S  i  ",  "'  '''<^'"  ™«'ho<l.  the  ehanoe;  are 
at  Il7  u„,n  pti.?  "'"'  ""Sunday  i.  not  con.idered 
at  all  until  Friday  or  Saturday,  that  it  is  then 
only  imperfectly  prepared,  and  that  i  ha.  no^ 
aMumed  any  very  definite  form  even  when  he 
a«end.  the  pulpit.  Thu.  inadequately  oqufpped 
t ..  not  .urpri.ing  that  the  unmethodical  preacher 

'e„e,  t^rr?"^  ""''''"■  """•  ""hough  he  pi 
"ha.n-1  »  *^    f  °™''"y-  h«.  Ukc  AHemu,  Ward, 
ham  t  It  about  him  a:  the  time." 

That  a  want  of  system  in  correspondence  keen 
■ng  church  and  personal  accounts,  atlendingTo 

poralXroT r','-  "'  '"'  "■"•"'(fon.en.  of  t'm° 
poral  affairs  of  whatever  nature,  is  productive  of 

s'to^  oh'"""r'°"  ""■'  """oyancc'^wirhou  tend 
1.  loo  obvious  to  need  extended  comment  No 
pansh  pnest  can  dispense  with  orderly  heed  to 
all  3uch  matters  without  sooner  or  later  awakei 
Ih!,  h"  ^""S^'-We  consciousness  of  ft?  faci 
that  his  affairs  are  "all  of  a  muddle";  and  it  is 
quite  possible  that  the  slipshod  careleMaess  o? 
men  hs  may  entail  bitter  regrets  for  ve^s  Sv^ 
tem  is  a  lubricating  oil  by  which  the  wheels' of  Uie" 

r^rninTf" -f"'"  """"""'^  "«  kept    l°otht 
running;  failure  to  use  the  lubricant  results  in 

jpeedy  strain  and  tension,  habitual  enfa„7eme„  s 

frequent  stoppases.  and  ulUmate  breakdown 


68 


PRIESTLY  PBACTICBT 


From  every  point  of  view,  then,  it  appears 
advisable  for  the  priest  to  regulate  his  life  accord- 
ing to  principles  of  order  and  method.    A  wise 
allotment  of  special  occupations  to  special  hours 
will  afford  him   not   only   ample    time   fc.    the 
thorough  performance  of  all  his  duties,  but  con- 
siderable leisure  for  legitimate  '.l nation.     The 
order  of  his  day  may  occasionaiiy,  or  even  fre- 
quently, be  disturbed  by  unforeseen  occurrences, 
by  higher  duties,  or  social  exigencies;  but  such 
breaches  are  readUy  repaired  and.  as  long  as  they 
represent  no  wilful  lapse  of  purpose,  are  prac- 
tically unimnr^itant.     On  the  whole,  conformity 
to  a  rule   (     life  intelligently  drewn  up  and  de- 
liberately  adopted,  cannot  fail    to    promote    the 
spiritual  and  temporal  welfare  of  the  priest;  and 
there  is  no  danger  of  his  pushing  method  to  tlie 
extremes  of  formalism  if  he  bears  in  mind  that 
his  rule  is  the  moral  equivalent  of  a  shoulder- 
brace,  not  of  a  strait-waistcoat. 


DAILY   MEDITATION 

THE    priest's    true     MANNA 

f.l.f  bTnU'^J/f^^ftwivli^Sh^'Vii  "'"-"^'o-  "e  will 
net  himwlf  of  hi* Vuita  1/  h«  Aw  ^.'*'  *  P""**"*  *"'  "Of 
Father  Maoh.  S.  J  ***"*  *•'"  '"»'»t»tioii  well.— 

Him  little.  But  thTJ  mK  „/th°  '^  T"?''  P"*"*"  ''^o  love 
books  nor  by  ntudy  it  k  »».i„  i*^  ■*^°.*,'  '"  >"»*  "quired  in 
the  crucifix  i^S'^Z'^L^t-TlXT''''''''''  *'  ^"^  *'«»*  ^' 

'pjAT  the  life  of  a  priest  should,  in  its  broader 
lines,  be  a  reproduction  of  our  Divine  Master's 
career,  is  a  truth  too  elementary  for  anv  one  to 
gainsay.    If  ordinary  Christians  are  bound.  In  the 
measure  of  their  ability,  to  be  followers  of  Christ 
and  imitators  of  His  virtues,  the  priest  is  unqu  " 
tionably  held  to  the  practice  of  these  virtues  ?„  To 
eminent  a  degree  that  he  shall  vindicate  his  daim 
to  the  glorious  titles  lavished  upon  him  by  Holy 
Scripture  and  the  Fathers  of  the  Church-«vicar 
of  Christ,  angel  of  the  Lord,  salt  of  the  earth 
shepherd  of  the  fold,  mediator  between  God  and 
men  doorkeeper  of  Heaven,  a  terrestrial  God.  an 
other  Christ."    A  cleric  to  whom  the  application 
of  these  titles  would  be  incongruous,  whose   ff" 
not  modeled  on  that  of  the  Divine  Exemplar,  L 

59 


eo 


rnm 


PBIESTLT  PBACTICB 


hymn  of  wo«Wp  and  If' 'L*'""''??'"  »<"«  '»  «he 
singing  to  her  Founder  Tr^  "'"'=''  "■"  »  «ver 
Son  of  the  Uving  God  ''""'^  <^''*'  »« 

and™^e?rrr:ofe":Vrrr»-'''«"'«''es, 

undeniable  one.    to'our  davT  "  ""=*'  "•"  "» 
preceding  centuries  of  fte  '^?;!f.  "«•  "'  '»  "l' 
have  been,  not  onlv  8om.f   '^'•ristian    era    there 
live,  are  in  la'menUranr  ^'='"f»j«'«'=»  whose 
to  the  model  pSsed  for  1' •""•'".'°"'  «"•»"»» 
great  many  in  S  ftf TJ-^*'V""'"'°°'  hut  a 
Christ-traits  pS  vUiM    ''."'  '^««>nblance  to 
ordination-have  wffh   he  .'  '*  */  "«'«  "'  «heir 
hlurred  and  indSu'e?  it,  ^roflr"'^  ''^~'"« 
pronounced  and  striltino     »     °'.''^'=?™"'8  "or* 
causes  which  have  jS  £  ,u-  "/.'"luire  into  the 

•he  ideal  peKec,  o„  of  fte  c'hri,  ■'°*  "T^  ^«"» 
and  which  have  subsJt,^.!,  T™'  «>•  Priesthood, 
natural  acUon  a  st"rile  al!f /^^  ''"^"«*  '"Per- 
baneful  and  nf^d^^;^J"'^^.  <not  to  sa^y  a 
probably  discover  thM^„        ..     "'"'*•    "«    »hall 
of  the  propS^Uth  -f  '^"''.^y'  «»  »  «he  time 
made  dLlate^e^use'^Se^H™  i»  all  the  la"d 
»idereth  in  the  heart  "■    Th^t '?  "»  ""^  "■««  <»n- 
fSrvor  ,„d    regularity    hil?;'::!^""','  !»««■"« 
tepidness,  laxitv    anrt  ,•„J^^       "    replaced    by 
cases  ou,  of  ten.  nested  IoT'^^kI.'"'  '°  »»« 
life  with  the  true  ZSdltl"'"'""'^''  'Pi'i'ual 
lion.  sacerdotal  manna,  dally  medita- 

*  Jer.  xU.  11. 


.^^H^YjiEDlTATION 


A  reflection  which  at  «« 
connection  with  this  subjecM,  Z^^'''  '"'^^^  ^^ 
does  one  hear  such  juSo  V  J^*  "^"^  ^^^^^Y 
Puenle  arguments  Z^ueiT^''}"^  «"^  "«erly 
«ound  logic  and  common  se't"^  '"  u**^^  «"^««  of 
«omg  cleric  undertfllr^  ,    ^      ^'  ^^  ^''^n  an  easv 
minin^izing  the  nect,  ,1°  ri' '^ '^  negligene'eX 
,yW  e  condescendTngJy  "^dlit^'^  T"*«'  Pr«yer 
^*^ce  IS  an  exceJJent  om.  ^*'™'"'"«  'hat  the  prac- 
;«  -Jigious.  asceti  s.Tnd"an  Vl''  ^-'^eni^.bie 
*he  uppermost  summits  nf       r^*""*  «^^  ^^n^ing  at 
he  guietly  assuCsTet    t^^'^^'^^.^"^  ^^ncfit^ 
rather  than  of  prec,    ra„d  th«f  T^  °^  ^«""«^ 
disregard  it  as  non-essential      ^^^*'''  ^"  °"^  '"ay 
an  "ordinaiy,  evety-daT^^''    '"^  'nevertheless  be 
Just  how.  or  b/wha^'  nro'  ^^^?  «°«d  Priest- 
has  arrived  at  this  rondus'r'''  "'  '•'^''«»^"«.  he 
he  really  sincere  in  Ws  uHp"'  '"PP««n«  him  to 
rather  difficult  to  SetenXe     "th- '  ''  "«"^d  be 
ever,  seems  clear-  »ho  ^his  much,  how 

«re  educating  those  of  iif  'f'"*""'^  recS^^  who 
"ever  been  Ipostfe   faim'  *^'°"^*'^'  *here  Z, 
Church,    doctor.    th;olo;?J;,  ^^  ''•'^''''  ^'  «' 
^hose  opinion  carries  Sp'.u   «P'"tual  writer 
has   treated  nf  tt  "^  shghtest  weich*    /k  * 


62 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


on  the  part  of  the  clergy.  In  every  volume  pro- 
fessing to  deal  with  the  priestly  life  and  its  duties, 
from  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  to  the  most  recently 
published  Directorium  Sacerdotale,  this  practice 
IS  insisted  upon  as  a  condition  essential  to  the 
cleric's  spiritual  health;  and  to  disparage  the 
pracUce,  or  to  underrate  its  importance,  is  to  run 
counter  to  the  common  sense  of  the  sanest  intel- 
lects that  have  ever  considered  the  practical  needs 
of  the  Christian  priest. 

To  cite  a  tithe  of  the  passages  from  Holy  Writ 
and  the  works  of  the  Fathers,  in  which  the  sover- 
eign importance  of  frequent  mental  prayer  is  pro- 
claimed with  almost  tedious  iteration,  would  be 
to  fill  more  pages  than  can  be  allotted  to  this 
whole  essay,  and  to  fill  them,  moreover,  to  no 
very  necessary  purpose,  since  any  priest  who  pays 
heed  to  the  sighificaUon  of  the  psalms  which  he 
recites  daily  in  the  divine  Office,  or  who  devotes 
ever  so  little  of  his  time  to  spiritual  reading,  can- 
not but  be  familiar  with  the  lesson  which  all  such 
passages  enforce:  that  meditation  is  to  the  soul 
what  food  is  to  the  body,  water  to  a  fish,  ballast 
to  a  vessel,  walls  to  a  city,  arms  to  a  soldier,  sun- 
light to  plants.    In  a  thousand  varying  terms,  they 
all  emphasize  the  truth  of  St.  Chrysostom's  dic- 
tum, "simpliciter  impossible  esse,  absque  orationis 
praesidio,    cum    virtute    degere,    et   hujus    vitae 
cursum  peragere." 

Whosoever  will,  may  re  dily  find  a  multiplicity 
of  these  excerpts  pointedly  condemning  the  posi- 
tion of  the  lukewarm  or  negligent  priest  who,  to 


DAILY  MEDITATION 


63 

matter  of  fact,  there  are  few  such  Dr?«.  v.'  ''  " 
not  time  and  again  condemned  ou,„?^h'^''°  "" 
mouths.  What  Dasfor  i.  n!2  u  *'"'"'  "^^ 
leas,  occasionai'ly^r/ress  Zl  ^lll  Z'-  "' 

expounds  the  doctrine  ,h»?  '"*°"'  "''«""«•"  "e 

only  the  dai,/?^^°o^'^„»  3'htti''^  ■"" 
tmual  respiration  Ho  .....  "'  "'eir  con- 
advice  of  St  Paul  t^thpTK^  '"?  P™^*'  "-at  this 

faithful  echo  Tf  hL'o  Sr  r-s'r  t  ""'  '"^ 
shows  that  amonB  all  th.^?..  ^'ehmg;  and 

examnip     tk  » *"'-^    consecrated    bv    His 

example.    The  excellence  of  Drav^^r   ,♦„     iT    , 
necessity,  its  extreme  taciul  Ir^J  -,  '^  ^^^olute 
efficacy— these  arp  fh!  ^^^'^^^^  and  its  wonderful 

of  serLns  a„7lL*LZ^^^^  *^^"^«« 

by  which  thepreachernr^^^^  T^  argument 

an  equally  foSe  rTa^whv  he'h'""  !?  ^'^^  " 
meditate,  for  as  a  rni!  ?I?  ^  ^^  himself  should 

neglects  mentaf  p^ay  ^  tes'Tof  i"''  'i^'^*"^"^ 
at  all.  ^  ^      **°^*  '^o*  »n  reality  pray 

All  prayer  deservinff  of  thp  na,«^  •      i- 
elevation  of  the  soul  to  God     In  ^    '""^^'^^  «° 
we  separate  ourselves  from  m;.  f"  «^°"»"e  P'-ayer. 
tions.  and  the  sens!^le™o"jects^t^^^^ 
surrounded  to  fix  ou«elven;o'/ Hi^!' ^:  l^ 


64 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


tricate  our  minds  from  the  hurly-burly  of  worldly 
aifairs  and  material  interests  in  order  that  we  may 
enter  mto  ourselves,  may  commune  with  God 
may  occupy  ourselves  with  Him  and  with  our 
eternal  interests.   Prayer  is  then  a  real  intercourse, 
a  heart  to  heart  conversation  with  God;  and  the 
obvious  danger  encountered  by  ecclesiastics  neg- 
lectful of  daily    meditation    is    that    the    vocal 
prayers  of  the  ]^issal  and  Breviary  may  be  recited 
m  a  purely  mechanical,  routine  fashion  with  none 
of  that  elevation  of  the  soul  which  alone  can  vivify 
the  stenle  formulas,  and  raise  the  utterance  of  cer- 
tam  set  expressions  to  the  plane  of  actual  pray- 
ing.   It  IS  quite  possible  for  a  priest  to  recite  the 
Canonical  Hours  with  the  strictest  regularity  and 
even  celebrate  the  adorable  Sacrifice  of  the  altar 
with  no  omission  of  rubrical  requirements,  and 
y^.*  *°  '^^***»«'"  work  be  in  veritable  communion 

more  than  hkely  that  such  will  frequently  be  the 
case  if  that  communion  be  not  constantly  renewed 
by  the  daily  exercise  of  mental  prayer. 

Thoroughly  to  comprehend  the  necessity  of 
this  practice,  an  ecclesiastic  needs  only  to  be  pene- 
trated with  a  lively  sense  of  the  ineffable  dignitv 
ot  his  calling  and  of  the  high  degree  of  holiness 
which  the  Church  demands  of  him,  which  in  fact 
she  presupposed  him  possessed  of  when  she  ad- 
mitted him  to  the  sanctuary.  He  will  scarcely 
regard  the  practice  as  other  than  essential  if  he 
fully  realizes  the  import  of  tfiree  facts  upon  which 
Cardinal  Manning  lays  particular  sta-ess:  "First. 


DAILY  MEDITATION 


Orde«;  second.  Z,T„  •™?u*''°"   »"   Sacred 

f  ustain  himself  i„  Sa'  ate,  '  ^  ST'  "  '"'•'>«'  «« 
"  to  the  end  of  ]"fe -^  ll  ^"^  '"  P«"evere  in 
to  divine  ministries."  savs  sT  Tu°  "^  ^PPo'n'ed 
a  royal  dignity,  and  o^h^  St  Thomas,  "attain  to 

No  man  ought  rashiylotffe,  h'  ""I.'"* '"  '"^''^■ 
'  guide  in  the  divine  liah.Lj  ""•''"  '<•  o""'"  «» 
and  habit,  is  „„t  m'o"!  /i^'to^God "  ""  ""  "««' 

«°AyviS^rn\rs°.l.f„?™--*eoh,^ 

in«  in  himself  thfe  kt "  »  *•  ?""  "'  '''^V 
hy  simply  disclaiming  anvl-  ""["^"""ity  to  GoS. 
most  heights  of  Tanftf^^      T  *°  ^«'^'"  ">«  top- 

Piratjons  and  exertton,Vtht^  "'"""'«  ""  «»■ 
«mple  sanctifying  grace     T       Pf^'^^aUon   of 
liolines,  as  is  impIiS  j^' ,  J°  '"f  *>  «  degree  of 
ot  this  sanctifyi"^ ^te  o^'.^*"!'?*'  Possession 
from  mortal  sin,  flI*?hSsSan^'  -.k*""*  '"^Oom 
are  calied.    The  oriesfT.        .'"*°"'  exception 
to  a  loftier  plane  rndh,      ^''""arily  asceSdeS 
»Wrk  the  higher  cond.r        """'•  ^"^  impunitv 
«i».ent  life  thtrlortithTv  TT"^  '°  "  <»- 

^?i::?^'^--"=-rs^: 


66 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


I    !: 
■J    i 

ii 

!! 


satisfied  quiescence  in  a  degree  of  holiness  no 
higher  than  that  demanded  of  the  ordinary  Chris- 
tian, will  exempt  him  from  the  rigorous  obliga- 
tions of  striving  earnestly  and  perseveringly  to 
become  "most  Hke  to  God."  To  admit  the  exis- 
tence of  such  an  obligation  is  obviously  to  ac- 
knowledge the  indispensableness  of  daily  medita- 
tion; for  we  can  grow  like  to  God  only  through 
knowing  Him,  and  we  know  Him  only  in  propor- 
tion to  our  study  of  His  attributes  and  perfections 
in  the  steadfast  light  of  mental  prayer. 

That  there  are  members  of  the  clergy  who,  in 
theory,  underrate  the  importance  of  this  exercise 
can  be  accounted  for  only  on  the  supposition  that, 
in  practice,  they  habitually  neglect  it.   To  the  sane- 
minded  priest  who  even  occasionally  devotes  a 
little  serious  reflection  to  the  obligations  incum- 
bent on  every  man  consecrated  to  the  service  of 
God  and  ordained  to  the  ministry  of  His  altar, 
it  must  appear  utterly  preposterous  that  he  can 
render  fit  service  or  adequate  ministration  with- 
out daily  recourse  to  this  substantial  aliment  of 
all  spiritual  life.    As  well  might  the  laborer  think 
to  do  without  the  material  food  which  sustains 
his  bodily  strength,  or  the  student  to  dispense  with 
the  regular  sleep  which  refreshes  his  weary  brain. 
If  the  priest  is  pre-eminently  the  man  of  God,  if  his 
whole  lifework  consists  in  seeking  God,  himself, 
and  leading  others  to  Him,  if  it  is  his  express 
business  to  be  in  the  world  but  not  of  it,  if  his 
ordinary  duties  bring  him  into  habitual  contact 
with  the  supernatural,  it  is  surely  little  less  than 


DAILY  MEDITATION 

from  daily  commun.'on  3hfA     r"."'  '"'"• 
As  a  mere  »pccuJaUv?n„-     "''  '"^  ■^«'"'"-- 
•ha.  from  (he  ver^  natreTr"  !'  *""""  «™ 
fhe  condiUons  inTeDan.M  '  ""'^  »"••  fro™ 

<he  priest  .Iiould  rS  m.^H^r''''  *"*""". 
spiritual  manna;  and  if  .h^t^'i!"?  "'  ""is  true 
perience  be  brou J^t  to  hl^  *'  °'  P'?""'"'  «- 
opinion  must  spefS  ,y  becoj"""  ">^">'"'er.  tbe 
most  exemplary  of  Vhl       ■    f  ^  '•""'iction.    The 

iaborintheworidreateTh!,"'""'^  "■"• '"«  ""d 
fold  grace,  and  the  nM^ht^  even  with  the  mani- 

acquired  by  fr^nenf  ml„,  .  "='=«"'<>»  of  strength 

cult  enough  toToTd  Se  dl""^*'": "  »  »«"  dim- 
are  co„,«„„    -»;<'  the  ?™f " J.",  which  they 

"ght,"  and  to  aive  to  (h.  ..  ^  '"*•  "o'  by 

ponderance  inTai,iiu!?  ,h"'"J?"'""'  "^  <>•"«  Pr^ 
know  full  well  ttt  even  *  """  "="'"'•  They 
of  their  morn  ngt  med«a.r  °P'=«»'™'"  "mission 
certain  languor  of  t"etu,°  "  ""'*''  "'*  « 
ing  of  the  spiritual  tone  „  1  V''?'^''"'''^  '°«er. 
complishment  of  dai  "  diue  '  "^  '"^' '"  *«  "c 
ution  in  the  energv  wf,h  „hV '""P^hle  dimin- 

God  and  the  thT^Tf  G^d  tndT  ""'  *"'  »*'"' 
upon  habitual  neelJlntihL  ^  V'ej'  W"'"!  look 
case  as  a  wilf^,  Sd„e«  ff  r  '"  ">«''  own 
of  their  eyes  to  thtuZ^'J  ""^  'i«™'c  'hutting 
a  lower  level  of  e4te„ce  th    ^u"^'"'  '"^^ent  to 

"' Wh°/t  ^;r-"""^e  Sr.'atl'  """'•  -'-''''  " 

whoomit:;rm'3;iS?^--:~He 


68 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


ii 


^1 


he  makes  it?  or  that  of  his  still  laxer  brother  who 
disregards  the  practice  altogether?  To  ensure 
honesty  and  candor  in  the  expression  of  the  lat« 
ter's  views,  it  will  perhaps  be  advisable  to  **appea1 
from  Philip  drunk  to  Philip  sober,**  from  the  priest 
affected  with  that  species  of  lethargic  stupor  which 
is  superinduced  by  spiritual  indolence,  self-indul- 
gence, and  mere  routinism,  to  the  same  priest 
with  spiritual  faculties  thoroughly  aroused  by  the 
exercises  of  his  annual  or  biennial  retreat.  If, 
in  that  season  of  reawakened  fervor,  he  has  to 
deplore  the  remissness  that  has  char«icterized  his 
conduct;  if  he  is  conscious  of  having  allowed  the 
world  and  its  happenings  to  engross  far  too  much 
of  his  time  and  attention;  if  he  realizes  that  his 
energy  has  often  been  wasted,  and  his  labor  ren- 
dered sterile,  because  unsanctified  by  purity  of 
intention;  if  he  has  reason  to  fear  that  familiarity 
with  the  sacraments  and  even  the  Mass  has  bred 
in  him,  not  perhaps  contempt,  but  gross  careless- 
ness and  irreverence;  if,  in  a  word,  he  feels  that  he 
has  been  leading  a  natural  rather  than  a  super- 
natural life,  he  may  justly  attribute  much  of  the 
evil  to  his  neglect  of  daily  meditation,  and  may 
well  echo  the  plaint  of  the  Psalmist :  "I  am  smit- 
ten as  grass  and  my  heart  is  withered,  because  I 
forgot  to  eat  my  bread."^ 

Of  the  beneficial  influence  which  the  faithful 
practice  of  daily  mental  prayer  exerts  on  the 
whole  round  of  priestl>  duties  and  labors,  it  is 
needless  to  speak  at  any  length.    It  would  argue 

*■  Pi.  ei.  6. 


. DAILY  MEDITATION  e9 

el^rdse  D^L°f  '""?  *?/°"^*  ♦*»«*  '^'^  ««»"tary 
n?^h?  /  ?^°*o'  *''*"'*^  ^^'^or  in  the  celebration 
of  the  adorable  Sacrifice,  ensures  the  more  worthy 

nmZ\Ta  -I *'^  -r™^"t«.  burnishes  "eeded 
Jignt  for  the  guidance  of  souls  in  the  confesHinnni 
enhances  the  efficacy  of  God's  word  in  the  "S 
and  aids  as  nothing  else  can  do  in  the  solution 

re'Son  Tf "   **""?.  «^"*    ^'^^^    ^^^^itua 
realization  of  unseen  and  heavenly  things  which 

be«e"r    t^L°'  l'''"1  ''"'-'^-^  assured  ^s   t 
better    than    all    external    rules   to  guard   and 

SrwhVh"h"*'  '*."  «"  -temafJi^ht  a^nd 
strength,  which  he  carries  with  him  at  all  times 

^ace'of'hrnri^'T'  T'^'T^  '""^  sacramell 
Snno  h  i'^"  *^°°'*-  '^"^^  ^^'^  "  «  d»vine  and 
unfaihng  help  in  every  peril  or  need." 


VI 


■ 


I 


A  CLERIC'S  READING 

iDtolleetiuUlj  man  is  ruminant,  and  be  gets  little  pennanent 
benefit  from  Uterary  browsing  unless  be  uterwards  cbews  tbe 
cud.— Dr.  Thomat  Httt. 

Reading  is  useful  only  in  proportion  as  it  aids  our  intellectual 
development;  it  ai^^s  our  intellectual  development  only  in  pro- 
portion as  it  supplies  food  for  reflection;  and  that  portion  of 
one's  reading  alone  avails  whicb  tbe  mind  baa  been  enabled  to 
assimilate  to  itself,  and  make  its  own  by  meditation.— Brolker 
Atariaa. 

A  babit  of  readin{^  idly  debilitates  and  corrupts  the  mind  for 
all  wholesome  reading;  tbe  habit  of  reading  wisely  is  one  of  tbe 
most  difficult  to  acquire,  needing  strong  resolution  and  infinite 
pains;  and  reading  for  mere  reading's  sake,  inBtead  of  for  the 
good  we  gain  from  reading,  is  one  of  the  worst  and  commonest 
and  most  imwbolesome  habits  we  have. — Frederic  Harriaon. 

"'T'ELL  me  thy  company  and  I'll  tell  thee  what 
1  thou  art,"  says  the  proverb-pregnant  San- 
cho  Panza :  and  the  adage  will  lose  nothing  of  its 
wisdom  if  to  the  term  "company"  we  give  a  more 
comprehensive  meaning  than  Don  Quixote's 
worthy  squire  probably  had  in  mind.  Intercourse 
with  this  or  that  class  of  one's  fellow-beings  is  not 
the  only  kind  of  companionship  that  influences 
the  character  and  serves  as  a  generally  truthful 
index  thereof.  Books  are  no  less  companions 
than  are  men  and  women;  and  where  the  choice 
of  one's  living  company  is  necessarily  restricted, 
these  inanimate  friends  of  our  predilection  often 
furnish  a  far  truer  estimate  of  our  real  character 
and  tastes  than  does  the  social  circle  in  which  we 

70 


A  CLERIC'S  BEADING 


71 


especially  to  many  a  priest,  constrained  by  force 

destitute  of  congenial  society,  an  apter  rendcrinfl 

bnol?'^°  '^'"r  •  P""^''**  ^°"»d  b^=  Tell  me   h? 
books  you  read  and  I'll  tell  you  what  youTre 

Books  and  reading  have  been  the  fruitful  and 

^oerj^^^^^^^^^^        I'  ^«"""-«  Englishtsayi^' 
^nJ^M^  philosophers  ever  since  Bacon  wrote 
Reading  maketh  a  full  man/'  and  Pope  scored 

With  loadi  of  learned  lumber  in  his  head," 

I"ver^d^^^m•'^^^°^^^   ^^*^°^^«»  Pr«««her  de- 
ng  ^savs  the  i^^^^^^  commentaiy:  -A  little  learn- 
ing.    says  the  poet,  'is  a  dangerous  thina'     Ah 

me  uniity,  or  rather  the  necessity,  of  readinfl  in 

?Z"'=/;"  "'««»»'v«  generaOon.  h.v?alwa™ 
continued  to  puWi.h  book,  about  book.    andT 
though  the  question  is  „o  longer  now  if  «  ever 
was,  to  read  or  not  to  read— there  iiill  Ll^i    . 
o*er  quesuon.  the  answers'-trwlll  Tar  U™° 

pf  ^'mcuu-ordis-rits-^s  ""i 

how  to  read  it7  Specie  TnsJ^t  ,o  eith™ 
Uon  would  necessarily  be  as  varied  as  are'he  i„ 
tellectual   requirements   and   caoabiliiu.    'f   i 

.Tie  "ir :  Tr-  ""'  he'fflnu^e"  V  ,! 
lr«T^,t  ,  n  °°'"  "'^  '""^  *«  PU'Pose  of  gen- 
eral  mental  culture,  and  as  to  those  in  harmony 


II 


I 


72 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


with  one's  particular  profession.  Reading  un- 
doubtedly occupies  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
time  at  the  disposal  of  most  priests,  and  ought  to 
occupy  some  part  of  the  leisure  of  all  of  them; 
hence  an  essay  dealing  with  tlic  matter  and 
method  of  a  cleric's  reading  may  reasonably  be 
supposed  to  appeal  to  the  attention  of  the  younger 
clergy,  even  should  it  fail  to  command  their  ap- 
probation. 

And  first,  let  it  be  said  that  the  young  eccle- 
siastic who  has  arrived  at  the  epoch  of  his  ordi- 
nation without  having  acquired  a  taste  for  good 
reading,  is  very  sincerely  to  be  pitied ;  and  that  the 
absence  of  such  a  taste  denotes  something  radi- 
cally wrong,  either  in  himself  or  in  the  collegiate 
training  to  which  he  has  been  subjected.  If  the 
classics  of  his  mother- tongue,  whether  in  prose 
or  poetiy,  are  to  him  mere  bowing  acquaintances, 
instead  of  valued  friends;  if  he  cannot  appreciate 
their  lofty  sublimity,  their  multiform  beauty,  or 
their  delicate  humor,  his  mental  development  has 
not  kept  pace  with  his  physical  growth.  He  may 
have  acquired  a  considerable  store  of  fact-knowl- 
edge and  a  smattering  of  various  sciences,  but  "so 
far  as  reading  is  concerned  his  mind  is  still  the 
mind  of  the  cliild  who  reads  his  book  only  till  he 
finds  out  the  meaning  of  the  pictures  it  contains." 
Volumes  that  should  be  to  him  as  pleasant  flower 
gardens,  bright  with  varied  colors  and  redolent  of 
a  thousand  grateful  odors,  he  looks  upon  as  arid 
deserts,  progress  through  which  would  surely 
prove  a  wholly  uninteresting  and  toilsome  task. 


A  CLERIC'S  READING 


78 


If  he  reads,  at  all,  anything  higher  than  the 
iensational  fiction  which  debauches  the  intellec- 
tual system  just  as  opium  docs  the  physical  one. 
It  is  in  a  desultory  fashion,  at  infrequent  intervals, 
for  bnef  periods,  and  with  scarci  ly  perceptible 
results.    Even  a  good  novel  is  beyond  his  mental 
grasp.    Like  the  emotional  young  woman,  he  see» 
nothing    but    vapidity    in    th.     masterpieces    of 
ihackeray.  and  turns  from  tlum  In  revel  in  the 
puerile  pages  of  Rhoda  Broughton  or  the  'IHich- 
ess  ;  If  indeed  he  is  not  more  -d  ho-ne  on  the  still 
lower  intellectual  plane  whereo,;    ih     unn  rmed 
schoolboy  takes  to  his  heart  the  l»!  >od  curUli.io 
adventures  of  "Wild  Nick  of  the  Guich,"  or  the 
absorbing  inaniUes  of  "Old  Sleuth  the  Detective '» 
Place  such  a  young  man  in  a  city  or  large  town 
and  the  chances  are  that  he  will  give  to  the  world 
and  its  pleasures  an  undue  portion  of  his  time  and 
attention;  place  him  in  a  remote  country  parish 
where  during  the  greater  part  of  the  week  he  has 
Ave  or  six  hours  of  daily  leisure  at  his  disposal, 
and  It  IS  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  it  will  require 
a  superabundance  of  God's  grace  to  preserve  him 
from  moral  shipwreck.    No  one  will  question  the 
statement    that,    other   things    being   equal,    the 
priest  who  has  the  greatest  fund  of  intellectual  re- 
sources IS  in  the  least  danger  from  inferior  temp- 
tations-if  for  no  other  reason,  because  he  has 
fewer  idle  moments;  and  hence  a  taste  for  solid 

hp?n  "5^1***  ^^^  *T^«^  "'^^  «  ««°"^ne  '"oral 
neip.      When  a  man  has  neither  work  enough  nor 

study  enough  to  fill  his  mind."  says  Cardinal  Man- 


II 


fl 


■^■- , 


74 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


nin^  "he  suffers  from  monotony,  and  is  restless 
for  change.  He  is  weary  of  vacancy,  and  craves 
for  an  interest.  He  jBnds  none  at  home,  and  he 
seeks  it  abroad.  His  mind  wanders  first,  and  he 
follows  it.  His  life  becomes  wasted  and  dissi- 
pated—that is,  scattered  and  squandered,  full  of 
weariness  and  a  tediousness  in  all  things,  which 
at  last  invades  even  his  acts  and  duties  of  religion. 
....  Weariness  is  the  descending  path  that 
leads  to  sloth,  and  sloth  is  the  seventh  of  the  sins 
which  kill  the  soul."* 

It  need  scarcely  be  remarked  in  this  connec- 
tion that,  while  the  possession  of  a  good  library 
is  prima  facie  evidence  of  its  possessor's  taste  for 
good  reading,  experience  proves  that  such  evi- 
dence is  frequently  unreliable.  To  have  a  few 
hundred  select  volumes  is  one  thing;  to  make  one- 
self familiar  with  their  contents  is  quite  anoi  i.  -. 
The  taste  for  making  a  collection  of  really  valua- 
ble books  is  decidedly  more  common,  among  the 
clergy  as  among  other  people,  than  is  the  zest  for 
perusing  them,  once  they  are  collected.  A  priest 
possessing  any  perceptible  amount  of  self-respect 
must,  in  deference  to  the  pubUc  opinion  which  af- 
fects him  personally,  have  at  his  disposal  a  cer- 
tain number  of  standard  works — those  at  least 
that  deal  with  the  various  branches  of  ecclesias- 
tical science.  In  self-defence,  if  for  no  better  rea- 
son, he  must  own  a  few  fairly  well-stocked  book 
shelves;  because  he  is  intimately  concerned  in 
keeping  up  the  common— even  should  it  happen 

1  The  Eternal  Prieathoodj  p.  go. 


A  CLERIC'S  BEADING 


75 


to  be  the  erroneous-impression  that  he  is  a  man 
of  leammg  and  a  book-lover. 

That  hundreds  of  volumes  are  purchased  in 
accordance  with  this  principle,  r  .'her  than  from 
any  genume  desire  to  extract  the  treasures  of  wit 
and  wisdom  that  lie  buried  in  their  pages,  is  a 
fact  as  sad  as  it  is  incontrovertible.  Many  a  ^oung 
pnest  expends,  in  the  first  fervor  of  his  ecclesias- 
^cal  career  the  bulk  of  his  availabl^  funds" 
buying  good  y  tomes  which,  for  all  the  practical 
beneht  he  will  ever  derive  from  them,  mfght  jus 
as  well  be  reposing  on  the  bookseller'^  shflvei  as 

P^K  f.T"-  ^  ^°^  "^""'^  i«  unquestionably  an 
embellishment  to  any  residence;  but  when  ^hey 
are  to  serve  for  ornamental  purposes  only,  books 
are  rather  a  costly  acquisition.    Not  hy  the  books 

cZ^r-  \"-   ^^  **^"^^  *^^  '•^«^«'  -^^  reads  judi! 

ZS"  i'  "Jf"*"^  «''°^***  «ff^^*^<J'  «"d  the  un- 
touched and  often  uncut  tomes  which  make  so 

lessTnH-'^r  '"  the  bookcases  of  some  clerics  are 
less  indicative  of  the  intellectual  calibre  of  their 
owners  than  are  the  paper-covered  volumes  that 
lie  open  on  desk  or  table,  and  accumulate  in  draw- 
ers  and  closets. 

Supposing,  however,  that  the  young  priest  has 
been  discreeUy  trained  to  habits  of  menlTdisci 
pline,  and  that  he  has  not  vitiated  his  taste  for  the 
valuable  in  literature  by  the  indiscriminate  peru- 
al  of  literary  trash,  what  should  be  the  nature  of 
the  volumes  that  go  to  form  his  library?  Ob 
viously  he  should,  at  the  outset,  supplement  his 
seminary  text-books  with  at  least  one  or  two  Ln 


76 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


11 


<iard  works  on  each  of  the  subjects  which  were 
the  matter  of  his  studies  during  the  three  or  four 
years  immediately  jMreceding  his  ordination.     Of 
none  of  these  subjects  is  his  knowledge  hkely  to 
be  more  than  elementary;  and  on  mo«f  of  them 
he  m«y  read  during  a  lifetime  with  no  fear  that 
his  time  is  being  unprofitably  expended.    Theol- 
ogy, whether  dogmatic  or  moral,  is  an  inexhaus- 
tible mine  wherein  he  may  delve  for  decades  with 
the  certainty  of  constantly  discovering  new  nug- 
gets of  precious  truth  with  which  to  stock  his 
mental  treasury.    A  volume  or  two  on  the  liturgy 
•■d  the  rubrics  wiU  prove  indispensable,  not  only 
for  purposes  of  consultation  in  special  emergen- 
cies, but  for  occasional  hours  of  attentive  study  as 
well.    Ccmiprehensive  treatises  on  Canon  Law  and 
the   Councils,   althou^   perhaps   less   rigorously 
necessary   than    the   foregoing,   should   certainly 
find  a  place  in  his  collection  and  occupy  a  portion 
of  his  leisure.     An  ecclesiastical  history  such  as 
that  of  Rohrbacher  or  Darras,  one  or  two  ascet- 
ical  works,  a  few  volumes  (^  controversy,  a  The- 
saurus Patrum,  an  exhaustive  commentary  on  the 
catechism,  a  full  exposition  of  the  Gospels  and 
Epistles,  a  practical  work  on  sacred  eloquence 
with  several  collections  of  sermons  and  homilies, 
the  "Lives  of  the  Saints,"  a  Directorium  Sacer- 
dotalc,  and  a  half-score  of  volumes  for  the  pur- 
pose of  meditation  and  spiritual  reading— these, 
with  God's  own  book,  the  Bible,  and  the  quasi- 
inspired  "Imitation  of  Christ,"  may  properly  be 
considered  the  nucleus  of  a  cleric's  libraty.    They 


WUBsmmtamtmrna^ut  rm&^oaieAi 


r'-iV'"  All 


tf'' 


-iiM^i"^<^ 


A  CLERIC'S  READING 


77 


are  as  the  very  tools  of  the  priestiy  trade    and 

SoLTtT  "^"''"^  indispensable  to^uch  Je" 

effLtifrrk."  '''  '"^^°"'  «^  '^'^^  «-^  -d 

»i«  J°  **'^  foregoing  professional  collection  addi- 
Uons  may  well  be  made  from  the  wide  domain  of 
general  or  profane  literature.    The  sublimest  con- 
ceptions of  human  genius,  the  noblest  thougMs 
of  the  most  highly  dowered  intellects,  the  fairest 
ranscnpts  of  the  ideal  beautiful  and  g^d Tnd 
rue,  lie  forever  embalmed  between  the^ers^ 
some  half  a  hundred  volumes  whose  cost  will  not 
severely  tax  even  the  most  moderate  income.  The 
masterpieces  of  the  world'*  poets,  philosophers, 
historians,   essayists,  biographers,   and  novelists 

ours  "  Z  ''"'  T"'^°  *'^  ^^«^^  -'  *»>«  --«:! 
purse    and  some  few  of  them,  at  least,  should  be 

admitted  to  the  intellectual  storehouse  ;f  him  con! 
cerning  whom  it  is  written:  "Labia  sac^d^tis 
custodient  sapientiam."  The  quality  of  the  vol- 
umes, rather  than  their  number,  is  the  true  cr- 
tenon  by  which  to  estimate  the  comparative  ex- 
cellence or  worthlessness  of  different  book-collec- 

1  br^^'^ril^  ^  k'k*  ""^y  P°''^^^  «  ^^'-y  admirable 
library  although  he  owns  no  more  than  a  hundred 

books     As  efficient  aids  to  genuine  mental  growth 

and  literary  culture,  indeed,  the  Bible  and  Shake! 

speare  are  alone  worth  any  thousand  other  books 

taker^at  random   from   the   shelves   of  a  great 

there  are  non»  t^Kn  -an  sfforrt  »n/t!.  '^"i'"''  «  P»pers  and  magnxines-  and 
c»l  Pttbilction.  "^""^  "°*  '^  Bubscnbe  to  at  lea.*  one  .ccleViasti 


78 


PEIBSTLY  PRACTICE 


library;  and  thoi^h  a  man  had  no  other  volumes 
than  these  two  and  a  good  quarto  dicticmary,  he 
would  still  possess,  both  ample  material  for  the 
highest  development  of  his  intellectual  powers, 
and  Ihe  best  models  for  the  formation  of  a  liter- 
ary or  an  oratorical  style. 

Apart  from  the  incomparable  value  of  the  Sa- 
cred Scriptures,  as  the  Word  of  God,  the  inspired 
volume  possesses  another  merit  to  which  a  good 
many  priests  are  apparently  blind,  or  which  in 
any  case  they  do  not  sufficiently  appreciate— that 
of  literary  excellence.  The  man  who  cannot  en- 
joy reading  its  pages,  considered  merely  as  litera- 
ture, deriving  therefrom  a  delight  akin  to  that 
afforded  by  the  poetry  of  Shakespeare,  Milton, 
Wordsworth,  and  Tennyson,  or  the  prose  of  Ba- 
con, Burke,  Newman,  and  Ruskin,  has  a  taste  less 
cultured  than  might  reasonably  be  looked  for  in 
one  who  has  enjoyed  the  educational  advanta|^s 
of  the  ordinary'  cleric.  'There  is  no  higher  poetry 
on  earth  than  Isaias,  no  higher  prose  than  the 
parables  ^  our  Lord."  The  encomium  pro- 
nounced a  few  years  ago  by  a  distinguished  Amer- 
ican editor  on  the  Bible  as.  of  all  the  books  essen- 
tial to  the  jouriMlist.  "the  most  indispensable,  the 
most  useful,  the  one  whose  knowledge  is  most 
effective,''  merely  attested  the  editor's  scholarship, 
although  it  probably  astonished  his  average  audi- 
tor. "I  am  cwBsidering  it  now,"  said  the  lecturer, 
"not  as  a  religious  book,  but  as  a  manual  of  util- 
ity, of  professional  preparation,  or  professional 
use  for  the  journalist.    There  is  perhaps  no  book 


A  CLERIC'S  READING 


79 


fTom  whlh  ""''""  «"««-«tive,  more  instructive. 
simDhnt  l^.V^^'''  "^°^^  directly  that  sublime 
Zntl  L''^''^  ""^'''  ^^««««rates.  which  re- 
counts    the    greatest    events    with   solemnity    of 

rnrwhich  "'*''"*  -timentality  or  affectation 
dnwn  *t  ^°u  °P'"  ^^**^  «"^h  confidence  or  lay 
the  BiWe!-'"       ^^^'---°ee:  there  is  no  book  like 

The  manner  of  one's  reading  is  scarcely  a  less 
important  consideration  than  is  the  matter  It  L 
quite  possible  to  read  even  the  best  books  for  four 
or  five  hours  daily  without  deriving  from  the  ex' 
ercise  any  appreciable  profit,  or  at  least  a  profit 

readLrrs^r*^"""'  *?  **^^  ''"^^  ^^P^^^^d-    I?  our 
reading  is  to  prove  of  real  benefit,  if  it  is  to  build 

up  and  strengthen  the  menial  fabric  and  conduce 
t'must  hf  "^'"^  development  of  moral  character! 
condition.  ^T'^^^T^  ^y  <^-rtain  indispensable 
conditions.  One  such  condition  is  that  it  should 
be  methodical.  Given  a  book  worth  reading  ?^ 
any  rational    le^timate  purpose,  one's  bes?1,Ian 

day  until  its  perusal  is  finished.  Habitual  desul- 
toriness  in  reading  is  not  merely  unprofitable  it 
IS  positively  deleterious.  Inconstancy  of  purpose 
and  discursiveness  of  thought  are  weeds  wWcr  „ 
the  soil  of  most  minds  spring  up  all  too  rapidl" 
and  their  noxious  growth  needs  repress^n  ratfae; 
Uian  encouragement.  The  preacher  who  is  c^. 
tanually  wandering  away  from  his  text,  who  c« 
i^flfTjceep  to  his  subject,  whose  argiL^ 

»Ch«rlea  A.  Dana,  in  a  lecture  on  " JonrnmliBn.  •  • 


80 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


I 


loose,  disconnected.  wanUng  in  logical  sequence, 
w  almost  invariably  a  man  whose  reading  has 
been  desultory  and  aimless. 

It  is  obvious,  in  the  second  place,  that  to  ren- 
der our  reading  profitable,  we  must  give  to  the 
matter  read  our  attenUve  consideration.    "Atten- 
tion,*; says  Brother  Azarias,  "is  the  fundamental 
condition  of  all  reading,  of  all  study,  of  all  work 
properly  done;"  yet  it  is  a  condition  very  often 
wanting  in  those  who  devote  even  a  large  part  of 
their  leisure  to  books.    To  concentrate  one's  men- 
tal faculties  upon  the  author's  train  of  thought,  to 
the  utter  exclusion  of  other  musings,  conceits,  and 
fancies,  is  a  habit  as  necessary  to  acquire  as  it  is 
difficult   of   acquisition.     The   perfect    attention 
which  the  trained  scholar  readily  gives  to  any 
subject,  however  dry  and  uninteresting,  is  possi- 
ble to  the  undisciplined  thinker  only  when  the 
theme  is  wholly  congenial  to  his  tastes,  or  when  it 
strongly  appe.i.:    to  his  interest.     Like  all  other 
habits,  this  (,f  att.  ntion  is  formed  by  the  constant 
repetition  of  single  acts.    The  reader  who  reso- 
lutely turns  away  from  distractions  as  soon  as  he 
notices  their  presence,  and  repeatedly  brings  his 
mind  back  to  the  consideration  of  the  full  mean- 
ing of  the  lines  which  his  eyes  are  traversing,  will 
eventually  acquire  facility  in  concentrating  the 
powers  of  his  intellect  on  whatsoever  subject  he 
will. 

Not  less  necessary  than  either  of  the  foregoing 
conditions  is  the  leisurely  meditation  of  what  one 
has  read  or  is  reading.    When  Bacon  wrote  that 


good  books;  and  the  m».'^  Judiciously  using 

of  men  derive  so  U«lereL^''r  ^^y  the  mj 
what  they  read  is  ih..  •!'"*'  ""'enance  from 
•»ental  tla,  fhe^boult  Ta°t  °'.'='"'^»«  '"e" 
us  any  utility  at  all  it,  „  ",k  5°°''  Powewes  for 
appreciated  until  by  iLTti™  h"'  "°' ''«"  "July 
deliberate  judamenf    1       ?' ''''  ^mparison.  by 

aoroughlyLSTtedtoou"''''''""?  '"«'  •""=»"■* 
"ig.    Reading  thatT  un^rn    T"  ""^"eetual  be- 

Uvity  may  sefvelo  kwZ  u"^"^  °^  "•»««'  ac- 
"•'"Prove  it.  On  tie  whol  t''"'  ''!''""'>'  '^"^^  »<>« 
ruminant,  the  wise  cleric  i,hJ'  ">teUectualIy 
rank  and  innutritious  «»'„„  T°,-  '""""'"8  »« 
•he  most  succulent  meraTZ.  °^'-  '"<""  ""'y 
some  hours  daily  bolh  Z  "^  ,!'"''°«^'  ""d  spends 
and  in  assiduous!^  'Z^  .t^i^'y  browsing. 


.:*L.--C'X^^ 


VII 


f 


ti:. 


■1^ 

1-1 


I  i 


THE  RUBRICS  OF  THE  MASS 

He  that  contemneth  small  things  shall  fall  by  little  and  little.— 
Ecclesiaaticua. 

A  contenjptu  nescio  qiionotlo  excusari  possint  istis  (niissae) 
caeremomas  omittentes  saerius,  imo  immutantes,  transferentes  et 
confundentes. — Tvrrino. 

Inasmuch  as  the  action  which  you  are  about  to  perform  is  one 
of  no  small  peril,  I  advise  you,  my  dear  sons,  before  celebrating 
Mass,  to  learn  carefully  from  well-instructed  priests  the  order  of 
the  whole  Mass  and  everything  relating  to  the  Consecration, 
Breaking  and  CommuMon  of  the  Sacred  Host.— Bite  of  Ordination. 

WHEN  the  elder  clergy  of  X—  get  together  and 
begin  exchanging  reminiscences,  one  name 
that  is  sure  to  figure  prominently  in  the  conversa- 
tion is  that  of  Bishop  M.,  the  saintly  and  scholarly 
Ordinary'  who  ruled  their  diocese  during  the  fifth 
and  sixth  decades  of  the  last  century.  Ever  zeal- 
ous for  God's  honor  and  glory,  and  somewhat 
punctilious  as  to  the  order  and  decency  of  all  re- 
ligious functions,  this  prelate  had  especially  at 
heart  the  exact  observance  by  his  clergy  of  the 
rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice.  In 
pastoral  letters  and  synodal  conferences  he  fre- 
quently insisted  upon  the  necessity  of  a  priest's 
reviewing  from  time  to  time  both  the  rubrics  of 
the  Missal  and  the  decrees  of  tlie  Sacred  Congre- 
gation relating  thereto;  and,  if  local  tradition  does 
not  belie  him,  he  once  enforced  the  same  lesson 
in  a  manner  as  drastic  as  it  was  novel. 


_83 

of  a  PopuIaT pastor, ir''''"^."''  '^^  "««"»" 
and  about  a  do«l  „f  h^'  ^'"'"*'-     ^''^op  M. 

and  the  „ext  morning  w  Masse.   'r'*^''"°»= 
at  Father  B.'s  three  «li„I.f  *    '  «'""8  °" 

o'clock.    That  the  Ri.i,„      k  T  '"  """'  «i«ht 
preparatory  /„*,&,  l"!"'"  "^^  ""^  ««» 

way  of  thanksgivin'^  *    ,     °„?,;  '"^  ''"°"""'  ''^ 
Ws  remaininff  h,  .hf         .     ™"^''  °'  «>«rae;  but 

Mas,  wasTmrnelV"    """^  '"^''«  ""'  «  «hird 

of  hi.  ::errrSg°pir "  t'T-"" '""»»« 

whether  by  accident  ^rdelL  ?h.R- T^^r*""'- 
diea  and  chair  were  ,o  m!  *? •  .!  «'»hoP»  P">- 
.o  afford  M™  an  etX^  rw  o/af,  Z^'T  ^' 
and  a  close  observer  mi»M  h  l-      "  """"^ 

prelate's  attentio7  .eZd  t.  h  """""  '"«'  *« 
divided,  hi.  eyes  folS  L  "''"^  "^"'"^ 
of  one  celebra'n,  nowTfnotLrurrt'  "''" 
elusion  of  the  last  low  Ma«  Th  n-  .  ™"" 
played  his  usual  afraMitTr'.h  t  ?.'/''°P  *'" 
assisted  at  the  .h,^„     7  ■    """  breakfast-table; 

celebrated   by   the  Tuhi?""°*  ""*  ^""""  ««»» 


84 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


it 


■  j    '  !i 


or  so  in  pleasant  converse  before  they  were  sum- 
moned to  dinner. 

Once  in  the  dining-room,  Bishop  M.  suddenly 
appeared  in  an  extraordinary  rdle  which  fur- 
nished the  guests  with  a  series  of  surprises  from 
the  soup  to  the  walnuts,  and  led  not  a  few  of  them 
to  suspect  that  their  Ordinary  was  afflicted  with 
an  attack  of  temporary  insanity.  For  the  time  be- 
ing, he  seemed  to  have  forgotten  even  the  ele- 
mental rules  of  table  etiquette,  violating  all  the 
canons  of  polite  living  as  recklessly  and  systemat- 
ically as  the  m6st  vulgar  of  half-famished  street 
Arabs  at  a  Thanksgiving  festival. 

Having  adjusted  his  napkin  around  his  neck 
after  the  manner  of  a  baby's  bib  or  a  barber's 
towel,   he   drank   his   soup   with   audible   gulps, 
smacking  his  lips  as  he  swallowed  the  last  drop 
of  the  liquid  which  he  had  tilted  his  plate  to  scoop 
up;  took  a  leg  of  roast  turkey  in  his  fingers,  and 
ate  the  dressing  with  his  knife;  reached  over  his 
neighbor's  plate  to  help  himself  to  dishes  a  little 
removed  from  him;  drank  his  coffee  from  the 
saucer  with  both  elbows  resting  on  the  table;  and, 
having  satisfied  an  apparently  ravenous  appetite 
before  the  other  guests  had  nearly  finished  their 
meal,  pushed  back  his  chair,  threw  one  leg  over 
the  other,  and  began  ostentatiously  to  pick  his 
teeth  with   his  penknife.     This  astounding  per- 
formance was  not  of  course  calculated  to  promote 
geniality,  and  although  some  of  the  priests,  ignor- 
ing the  eccentric  behavior  of  the  Bishop,  endeav- 
ored to  keep  the  conversational  ball  rolling,  it  was 


_IH1J!?^?WCS_0PTHE  MASS 


86 

z«^t  ''£"jtj'^  'eve^r::;;;;;:,;::; 

Bishop  M   paW  nl  «.l,  *""'".«  "'  **  «"■""='. 

other  end  oHh"  ablT  To  Z'i/™"  «,"'"•  «'  «>« 
B.  whether  he  wntf!'  .•       "  "1""^  '">">  Father 

ally  4lied  -^p  OD-    «  r  K  *'"'  "'  •««'"'''- 

.i.enoeL,iUhJ'e'„d''onhe"Lar  The""!?   '"'" 
somewhat  sooner  thnn  { „  V^?  .     ^°*^  ^^"'"e 

ndtif  r"  ^^^^^^^^^^       '"a';: 

.*  said.    Just  a  moment.  Fathpp  n  ••    tu      / 
■ng  to  the  expecan.  gues'lT  he  ^^^Un  JJ^"  "'™- 

.in«u!aS',ror*;':!ordS''/-"''T"- '■'•''' '•■<' 

hourhasHHed  vou  »»h       ^''"''«  ""^  P""  h"''- 

.temation:  andCwra  .rZ'el'."-';"  '"^  '™- 
ticularly  to  our  hos?  In  nff  '  '"^  ""''^  P"" 

of  that'eonducT  To^^  fo^  Z^  lT"f'"' 
endeavorinc  to  irivp  v«»  ^"'^°'/"^n»  ^  nave  been 

rics.  or  rather  i?  th  *        ?"  o^Ject-Iesson  in  rub- 

.  ui  ramer,  m  the  neclect  of  thpm     v^.. 
nave  noticed   ihnt   i  mem.    You  may 

ing.  as  I  have  done  durina  fM-^*         ^^"'•egard- 
of  etimiPffo   T  .      "*^  aurmg  this  dinner,  all  rules 


"J6*i5"W^' "*'  .•«"■ " 


MtCROcory  rboiution  tbt  chart 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


A 


/1PPLIED  IN/HGE    he 

1653  East  Main  StrMt 

Roch<ster,  New  York       14609      USA 

(716)  tSl  -  iiOO  -  Phont 

(716)  288  -  5989  -  Fo« 


86 


PfilESTLY  PRACTICE 


It'   -'  s. 


rubrics  of  the  Missal;  and  the  boorish  vulgarity 
with  which  I  have  ignored  social  observances  has 
assuredly  not  caused  you  such  disgust  and  pain  as 
the  mutilated  rites  and  ceremonies  of  this  morn- 
ing caused  me.    The  rules  of  table  eUquette  which 
I  have  transgressed  are,  after  all,  purely  directive, 
or  even  if  they  be  considered  preceptive,  certainly 
do  not  oblige  either  sub  gravi  or  levi.    With  the 
rubrics  of  the  Mass,  you  do  not  need  to  be  told, 
the  case  is  far  otherwise.    I  have  merely  to  add, 
gentlemen,    thai   I    apologize    very    sincerely   to 
Father  B.  for  having  marred  the  pleasantness  of 
his  dinner,  and  I  trust  that  some  of  your  number 
will  apologize  just  as  sincerely  to  Almighty  God 
for  your  irreverence,  precipitation,  and  neglect 
of  rubrics  in  the  celebration  of  the  adorable  sac- 
rifice." 

Even  were  the  whole  story  apocryphal,  one 
might  well  say,  "Se  non  e  vero,  e  ben  trovato"; 
for  nothing  is  surer  than  that  just  such  a  lesson 
would  prove  very  beneficial  to  many  ecclesiastics 
by  impressing  upon  their  minds  a  realization  of 
the  multiplied  faults  of  which  they  are  guilty  in 
celebrating  Mass.  In  a  certain  Canadian  diocese, 
some  years  ago,  there  was  prevalent  among  the 
confessors  of  priestly  penitents,  a  practice  which 
experience  proved  rather  commendable,  that  of 
giving  as  an  occasional  "penance"  the  attentive 
reading  of  the  rubrics  of  low  Mass.  The  average 
priest  who  performed  this  satisfaction  lor  the  first 
time  was  thoroughly  convinced  of  its  raison  d'itre. 


Z52_5E25i^L2!LZ5EM^ss 


87 

and  a  notable  improvement  in  fh«    u 

the  rubric,  was  .he  naS'resuI.  '"'""^  °' 

the  Mi8sal  are  DrecenKL  "■="'»<"■  ™l>rics  of 
surely  iepl^e  iTiSZ""  '"r"'^*'  "»«  ™«y 
without  meriting  the  rl°".  ''"^°  ?«'<"  '°  «"=■". 

impiied  in  the  :*iLVfSe  flel''" '  A.  .r"^"' 
least,  even  the  mn«*  «,   '"""c  neijd.      At  the  very 

of  .he  Mi^ittSy^r 'wo';;?.!":.?  H*"*  ™'^ 

erent  method  nf  «ffZ-  worthiest  and  most  rev- 
parabir/he  tfate!t  acti  '  """''j.^'^  *^«*  ^«  '^-^^' 
-a  sacrificeTs,^  i^than^^^^  °°  ^«'*^ 
ate  niinister  can  sc^ety  t  ^"tvrnf ''" 
tammg  to  it  to  be  a  matter  nftJw  ®"^*'*^°8  P^^- 
the  Mass  may  he  saW  in  »  !  °*  '"*'"*"°*-  ^^ 
Emerson  dreamt  of!'  ''  ''°''  *«°  «^^' 

To  the  Soul  that  knoweth  all- " 

^^tTei-aSs^ftt------- 

.ha."a«  tolatdta^r,:  "^^Sble"?'^-  '""'^^'''• 
Priests  who  either  have  never  LraedT^r  "^ 
Mass  properlv    nr  ho,r«         ,  '^^"'^a  now  to  say 

occas-lanr^ViewlnJ^hr^r  "'*  "•  «"^'=*>  bv 

rhieh  the/ha^TS  hel  "yXtr^^li't  "'" 
inadvertence,  and  routini.m  r  '^  '"rgefulness, 
P.en.en.  .o  his  C^rZ^ZraJ^J^^^Z^^l 


88 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


of  the  faults  ordinarily  committed  in  the  celebra- 
tion of  Mass,  and  of  the  no  fewer  than  fifty-three 
he  instances,  many  arc  transgressions  against  ru- 
brics which  are  very  certainly  preceptive.    That 
some  clerics  profess  to  attribute  no  importance 
whatever  to  various  details  of  the  cerem  nies  of 
the  Holy  Sacrifice  (details  which  they  the    selves 
habitually  neglect)  is  explicable  only  on  the  pre- 
sumption that  with  them  "the  wish  is  father  to 
the  tliDught";  and  they  seem  quite  oblivious  of 
the  fact  that  their  inconsistency  is  made  glaringly 
manifest  by  the  weight  which  they  give  to  some 
other  details  not  a  particle  more  authoritatively 
prescribed.     In    this   matter  of  rubrics,   indeed, 
priests  not  infrequently 

"Compound  with  sins  they  are  inclined  to 
By  damning  those  they  have  not  mind  to, ' ' 

as  if  their  vigorous  condemnation  of  the  lapses 
made  by  others  were  a  species  of  compensation 
for  the  faults  of  which  they  themselves  are  guilty. 
Like  Bishop  Warburton's  witty  distinction,  "Or- 
thodoxy is  my  doxy;  heterodoxy  is  another  man's 
doxy,"  the  difference,  in  the  estimation  of  many 
nriest,  between  the  two  kinds  of  rubrics  seems 
..o  be,  "Preceptive  rubrics  are  those  I  observe;  di- 
rective ones  are  those  I  neglect." 

Of  the  genuine  importance  of  all  the  rubrics  of 
the  Missal,  it  is  easy  to  form  a  correct  estimate  by 
weighing  well  the  terms  of  this  extract  from  the 
bull  prefixed  to  the  Missal  of  Pius  V:  "Mandantes 
et  districte  omnibus  et  singulis    ...    in  virtute 


m 


I5?_£E5?^^^  ^^  THE  MASS 


,) 


89 

sanctae  obedienUae  Kaedpientes.  ut 

monks  V.I  ^'''^^  celebratione  alias  caere- 

TenZr  Lh  '  ■'*''^'  ^"^"^  ^"«^  ^oc  Missali  con«- 

™b„c  .tsclf  doe,  „„,  obviously^how  atfreli^" 

bf  p  e  uTd'^Tt" "  t  -'"""""'"  -"  -  """y 
slance^rf  .;  ™"""8  of  'he  hands,  for  m- 

8?cnW    hv  ^-  P'^.P"""""  "f  'he  MiMal  in  the 
sacnsty,  by  disposing  the   "siffnacnla"  f.,   ,u" 

e™Kr«r  *"*  -''--^  under   h"e  ge^ 
,o^    »„!i  w^'     ""'  '"■•"""'"'  in  celebratione  Mi.. 

psalm,  Judica  me,  Deus    Thi«  ««/««  4    xl 

of  fhA  oito«  •     ^ "*•    ^  "Js  going  to  the  corner 

nroin         '  ''P^"'"^  ^'^^  M^''^^^'  and  verifyin«™he 
proper  arrangement  of  the  "sicnar.i]«"  uZ^  L 

S*"«^^«'»  *e  psata.  •reTjty  ,^  t'ot 
phshment  of  another  and  a  separate  rubric    "^d 

.'bV^sstthf^rty-  ""'  --'"-  «--  - 

probabty  be  more'ThaTsurpLed  l^t^;  IX' 
number  of  points  in  which'^'pr^eU:'  mZ 


90 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


0 


from  the  ordained  "ritum,  modum  ac  normam" 
of  saying  Mass,  the  positive  faults  of  which  he  is 
habitually  guilty,  the  distorted  and  mutilated  cere- 
monies to  which  he  has  accustomed  himself,  but 
for  which  he  can  cite  the  authority  of  no  rubricist 
great  or  little,  ancient  or  modern.    Fortunate  for 
him  if  he  has  a  brather  priest  candid  enough  to 
cal    his   attention   to  his   numerous   lapses— and 
skillful  enough  to  do  so  without  wounding  his  self- 
esteem.    Better  still  if,  seeing  the  necessity  for  re- 
form  in  his  method  of  celebrating  the  adorable 
sacrifice    he  has  the  good  sense  to  recommence 
the  study   of  the  Mass  from  De  Praeparatione 
bacerdotis  Celebraturi,  thoroughly  learning  a  lit- 
tle daily  until  he  knows  and  observes  the  most 
minute  rubric. 

The  Ordinary  of  a  diocese,  according  to  a  de- 
cree of  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  Rites,  cannot 
escape  responsibility  for  the  neglect  or  violation 
of  rubrics  among  the  clergy  under  his  jurisdic- 
tion. Ordmarius  stricte  tenetur  opportunis  rem- 
ediis  providere,  ut  Rubricae  et  S.  R.  C.  Decreta 
rite  serventur;  siquid  dubii  occurat,  recurrendum 
ad  S.  C.  pro  declaratione."  Few  Ordinaries,  pre- 
sumably, would  consider  such  a  course  of  action 
as  Bishop  M.'s  rubrical  dinner  an  opportune  rem- 
edy for  abuses  however  great;  but  some  have  in- 
stituted practices  more  available  and  not  less  ef- 
fective. One  such  practice  is  the  "rehearsal"  or 
moot"  Mass  at  the  regular  ecclesiastical  retreat, 
or  at  one  of  the  several  conferences  held  in  the' 
course  of  the  year.     In  the  presence  of  all  the 


4  ! 


-Hii^[:5E£!_2*'  ™E  MASS 


91 

clergy,  assembled  in  Hie  sacri.iv  ^^, 

'enl  aparlnieni  wlure  the  Blef  ^  «        ''°'"'*"- 

not  kept,  one  of  II ,    v  ^''  Sacrament  is 

goes  through  alUheeeLT*"  "7'"  ^*"»-  «"<f 
every  movfmrnl  .f^^f^on'^  of  the  Mass.  His 
noled  by  L  0^17;''°"  ""d  action  is  critically 

ly  lal<e.f  to  wha  ever  ^r  "'"'''''''"  "  P^^P'" 
Iheir  number  a  ..nJi  1^^  V^"'"'  '°  "">■  one  of 
scribe,,  by  he  rubric:'':"  ,h™"'  '"'  °"'''  P'"" 
ni.ed  a.  a'utl,ori[:,tl°,  J'^dVetr  tr""? 

and  nnaiif^eS  "b;  rrfe"rr„m^  ""'re- 
lies mentioned.  The  exer^fae  if  ^^  1  °"" 
dueled,  may  oecunv  „n  h  '  i  """ously  con- 
hours;  but  it  rZe  ev  T  I"**  "  """'f  »■•  'WO 
few.if  onv.of  ,hep.'r,S;"«'y  r"  'P""''  «"d 
'hing  new"  from  th';  prac'tict   ""  '"    '™™  ^°™- 

an  oLarasmMo  menH  "  '"'°  '^  ''°P^  "f  ™<=h 
which  rubridsts  Lie  n  "  "'"'"y  °f  ""^ ' '«"» 
•he  celebratio"  ;f"ri  Masrbut™'^  °'™'?'''«  '" 
attaches  to  the  naHicMl!!.     'j        "^  '"°'"'  interest 

general  and  abstract  ',  ""  T""'"  """>  "'  *« 
specify  iu,t  a  few  „  •  ;  T''  ''^  permissible  to 
.nay  ^i^'^Z^tf^^]/^  'he  reader 
least,  of  some  of  his  p]pW.  i  "  °^"'  o*"'  a* 

first,  the  inchn^L  "of   ^borr  bf^        .^"' 
ing  the  Confiteor,  as  also  at  fh.V    5    ""^"^^  *^"''- 

enough  lo  aii^'^'tre-  Z^t  tZll^^t;  Z 


92 


PBIESTLY  PRACTICE 


hands.    Unless  a  good  many  priests  have  abnor- 
mally  long  arms,  their  inclinaHons  are  less  pro- 
found than  moderate.     The  custom  of  bending 
either  the  body  or  the   head   while   making   the 
genuflechon  (unico  genu)  is  not  only  ungraceful 
but  mcorrect,  even  at  or  after  the  ConsecraUon. 
The  minor  reverence  is  included  in  the  greater, 
the  inclination  in  the  genuflection,  which,  as  Wa- 
pelhorst  and   other  liturgists   teach,  "semper  fit 
al>sque  capitis  vel  corporis  inclinatione."    The  de- 
votional sentiment  which  probably  inspires  the 
act  may  well  give  way  to  a  desire  exactly  to  con- 
form to  the  rubrics.    The  sign  of  the  cross  should 
be  made  in  straight  lines,  not  in  arcs  of  circles  or 
in  parabohc  curves;  and  to  substitute  for  it  a 
scooping  of  the  air  with  the  hand,  or  still  worse 
a  mere  gyratory  movement  of  the  fingers,  is  to 
travesty  one  of  the  most  venerable  of  ceremonies. 
The  Ora/e  fratres,  the  Sanctus  and  Benedictus.  the 
Nobis  quoque  peccatoribrs  and  the  Domine  non 
sum  dignus  ought  to  be.  but  commonly  are  not, 
said  ma  lower  tone  of  voice  than  the  other  por- 
tions of  the  Mass  which  are  said  aloud.  The  hands, 
when  extended,  should  be  not  farther  apart  or 
nearer  together  than  the  width  of  the  shoulders: 
when  elevated,  they  should  not  be  raised  higher 
than  the  shoulders;  and  in  both  positions  they 
should  be  so  held  that  the  palms  shall  face  ea-\ 
other. 

Attentive  consideration  of  the  foregoing  points, 
and  of  dozens  of  similar  ones  to  be  found  in  any 
good  Ceremonial,  can  scarcely  fail  to  benefit  the 


even  were  the  rubric,  onH       ."*'''  consideration. 

-IT.  It  is  «;;„'""  TZlnlZZ'  °'  ^^"P"*- 

l>eauty  and  harmonv  nf  n„  ^*  ensures  the 

priest  can  celeb^e  L-  w^fh  7''"^""'" '  ""^  "« 
«veness  unless  he  accurate!  '""«^"«"«  ^'"Pres- 
things"  of  the  rubric^  ^  °^'^'^^'  "*»^*^  «*"e 


VIII 


!4 


THE  BI.EVIARY:  GAIN  AND  LOSS 

^^^  Divinum  Ofc.cium  imiuti-.  eat  caelcotiii  concentun.  -.<?.  Bonaven- 

^f^JZV.  the  /ame-alwavH  imperfect,  prone  to  angor,  KrU"y 
attached  to  nelf  interest  and  to  vanities,— "Se/va.  "  K'^*'"'J'' 

theTu*uaW**'*th?'ihn'!   '"   **"'  f*"'^*'?*/^'  ""<'  the  Divine  Office  ie 
ine  ritual  c     the  choir  on  earth  unitini?  with  the  nraisefi    th&nk. 
giviDKH,  and     oxoloKie..  which  arc  the  ritual  of  the  KrTn  helven 

}iZ7  ^TK^*'  "?'"  P''"'*  '"   *'»'''  «»>°i'.  a„.rhe   makes  iven 
>isits  .1  the  heavenly  court  day  by  day.-cW  Manning 

IT  is  related  of  a  zealous  bishop  of   the   seven- 
*    teenth  century  that,  having  been  appointed  to 
the  diocese  of  Potenza.  in  which  the  clergy  were 
somewhat  lax,  he  consulted  St.  Joseph  of  Coper- 
tino,  as  to  the  best  measures  to  adopt  in  order  to 
secure  their  amendment.     "Let  your  Lordship," 
said  the  Saint,  "see  to  it  that  your  priests  recite 
the  divine  Office  with  attention  and  celebrate  the 
Holy  Mass  with  devotion:   the  worthv  perform- 
««nce  of  these  two  exercises  will  effect  an  enUre 
reformatio-  in  your  clergy."    The  soundness  of 
the  advice  cannot  be  questioned,  and  trree  hun- 
dred years  have  detracted  so  little  from  its  per- 
tinency that  these  words  of  the  Saint  might  per- 
haps  be  addressed  to  many  a  bishop  of  the  twen- 
tieth centur.    with  fuiIy  as  much  appositeness  as 
characterized  their  original  deliverance  to  the  Or- 
dinary of  Potenz?    in    the    seventeenth.     In    any 

94 


iH^55I!^5lL2^VIN^ND  LOSS        95 

Ingi  and  it  i,  ^caKehZf"  Z'"'  """'  "''°""- 
refor,,,  would  Wrtuallv  h„  »  '"  ""^  "■"'  "'<■'•• 
one  lo  Qcq,"rc  .!„.  hlu     Z'^'"''"'''    *"'^    "hey 

dotal  day:  the  .'..,„  „„J  „,,.  ^^^^^  <"  •••«  -ccr- 

'en  lo  vilialc  th !  whole  1h     "",,'"  "'"''*''  '»  "f" 
meant  to  honor    7n  Iho  *■?•■  «■^on.  the  Office  i, 

circumstance  of  place  "het,-'r.  "'  """•  ">e 
v«Oing  movement,  rite,  IT"'  •■""•  «"''  ">« 
»pire  to  impre„",t  prfesl  w^fhT'V"''"'  ™"- 
»'«niflcance  of  the  LdoraWe  si     i'"  "•^'"endous 

oflering.  while  .he  awf™"  eairoMh?'"''  "^  " 
f»f  Jesus  Christ  in  »i,«         rtaiiiy  of  the  presence 

ene.  ..e„„.„ aid  tf  Wm  ^f  thTa^Ur  "th'''^"^^'- 
of  such  .emn  i!i,.nM.  •  1  •  The  absence 
of  th,- "  H-c^    '!^'"  '""f  P"™'e  ■•'  Station 

"'e  red  «  „  lime  n.  '"".'"""  "'■■""^d  '» 
eoncenira,,  rmTenir.n  f^";  ""d    Posture,  make 

culfy.  incr.  «.  he  a"  eri;f  -^^'  °'  «'"'""  diffi. 
volion,  ar.d  ,,  readT  *"'^»Peel  and  inde- 
.apse  into  m.  . ^r^f^S-  '-^  "ep.orable 

"a^      coulracted  the  obligation 


96 


PRIESTLY  PBACTICB 


III 


of  reading  ,t,  the  Breviary  i.  variouHly  coiwidered 
a  pi*  dsure  or  u  burden;  and  it  accordingly  provea 
eitljer  an  effective  help    r  a  genuine  hindran^^ 
heir  sanctiflcaUon.    The  truly  exemplary  priest 
the   cleric   who   ha.   become   acclimated    to   the 
supernatural  atmo  -)here  in  which  of  right  t^ 
mmister  of  God  should   habitually   movef  loi    « 
upon  the  recitation  bf  the  divine  Office  as  an  ho..- 
orable  service  which  he  is  signally  privileged  in 
wh.Vh'h  •    ed  to  perform,  and  the  performance  o 
which  brings  to  him  a  copious  influx  of  spiritual 
p-ace   and   consolation,   a   notable   accession  of 
celesUal  sweetness  and  light.    A  veritable  man  of 
1.  «  .1  f    ?  ^^^  S^*-^^'  °f  »"«  Lord  and  Master, 

L  fP  ''if '^  'T^^^*'  *°  *^^»  »^«»»*  <'«"  never  assume 
the  ignoble  guise  of  a  laborious  task.  With  the 
characteristic  delight  of  the  ardent  lover,  he  r^ 
joices  in  rehearsing  the  endless  atalogue  of  his 
Beloved's  perfections,  and  neve  .earies  c^  r" 
echoing  in  his  heart  the  constantly  recurring  "trib- 
utes cf  praise  and  worship  and  thanksgiving  to 
which  patnarchs.  evangelists,  and  saints  of  every 
degree  lend  their  voices  in  the  magniflcent  chorus 
of  the  canonical  hours. 

V«I°  *;"''*'  ^P"l'*  ^^^  Breviary  is  a  genuine 
Vade  Mecum  in  whose  treasured  pages  he  finds 
not  only  congruous  expression  for  all  his  varied 
sentiments  but  balm-like  words  of  healing  for 
eveiy  bruise  of  his  soul;  and  the  precious  mo- 
ments  which  from  time  to  time  during  the  day  he 
devotes  to  the  Office  are  merely  renewals  o7the 
meffable  communion  that  -lorifled  the  morning 


— ■'■'  ot 

H.W.y  the  ecS.ll*%r'  h"  'l""'  «f  «''«1- 
hend.  Uie  true  .igniflcM^  „, '^^  ""'^  W"- 
dlvine  Office,  anSThn  j!n     '^'.«'««oii.  to  the 
W.  ,heo^  of  X^  J^°  d^|y  verier  in  p^cice 
one  who  -Vven  tlniM  !  T    •    •  '    "*  '•  '"dwd 
««lnU  .„d  before  rf«eL"rJ:i.f''°''  *'"'  ">« 
Holy  M.M.  he  find.  i„  ,he  HoL^  "  '"''  ""'  '» 
help  <o  that  Mcerdol.1  nerf^^,"'  T""'  *<"<='«« 

Off       -1  ,U,K'%  "''*«»".  do  not  regart  the 

'« i.  a  reaf  i  "atre^'to'  a^v^Tre^ r""'  »"  *"^ 
*hlch  they  habitual  yd^v^^h"':""  "'"'  f™"' 
profit,  i.  a  truth  which  no  «I!  '^""''•nt  .piritual 
"•tricted  clerical  »^„.,°  ?"*  *'"'  *"«•>  'he  most 

•i«««c^  the  reci7aur„  of  ?h°  S'  "?*  "  '«"  ««'*- 
•n   irk«,me   labor,   a   dai Iv  "'^'^  '»  ""^'y 

which  they  perfo™  i„    "^  ««uiTing  drudgery 
|;ecau,e  JC^i\^Z  ^^^''V^  f«»hio^ 
them,  but  which  they  wouM     '^f?"""  '"'"  "Po" 
the  omiMion  involve  norn^T''""*'^  °™i'.  did 
•he  Hou«  to  be  declared  ^  iZf^  "■*  «»*ng  of 

«hat  many  a  Bievia'J  J!    "'^^hly  »«fe  fo  ,ay 

sated  to  the  top  ,?etf  oTX  h"' ^""'*"''  «'«^ 
are  stored  volume.  u.ed,n^*'"'°^«5e  '■•  which 
only.  ™  "ed  tot  occasional  reference 

Of  ~el.eu^fiirtri„r';!,"  ""«"-- 

t  "  '"*  inconsiderate  remarks 


98 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


upon  the  Breviary  so  often  heard  in  clerical  cir- 
cles, or  take  it  for  granted  that  the  irreverent 
tongue  is  always  the  faithful  interpreter  of  its 
owner's  real  sentiments;  but  if  any  truth  what- 
ever may  be  attributed  to  the  maxim,  "ex  abund- 
antia   cordis   os   loquitur,"   then   a   considerable 
number  of  priests  clearly  look  upon  the  recitation 
of  the  divine  Oflfice,  not  as  an  agreeable  and  a 
joy-giving  service,  but  as  an  onerous  and  undesir- 
able burden.     It  goes  without  saying  that  such 
men  pervert  the  purpose  of  the  Office,  and  make 
it  a  stumbling-block  in  the  way  of  their  spiritual 
advancement  rather  than  a  stepping-stone  to  their 
sanctification.    The  priest  who  habitually  regards 
the  recitation  of  his  Breviary  as  an  uncongenial 
task  is  so  little  likely  to  turn  it  to  his  profit  that 
he  may  be  considered  fortunate  if  the  Office  does 
not  become  for  him  the  occasion  of  very  serious 
spiritual  loss. 

If  the  psalms,  hymns,  lessons,  antiphons,  ver- 
sicles,  responses  and  prayers  that  constitute  the 
Canonical  Hours  are  to  prove  of  any  positive  ben- 
efit to  him  who  reads  them,  they  must  unques- 
tionably be  recited  "digne,  attente  ac  devote,"  and 
it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  the  cleric  who 
views  their  recitation  merely  as  so  much  unavoid- 
able drudgery  can  fulfill  these  conditions.  Grant- 
ing that  he  pays  such  attention  to  the  mere  words 
as  strictly  suffices  for  the  acquittance  of  the  obli- 
gation, what  prospect  does  his  frame  of  mind 
offer  for  the  presence  of  even  incipient  devotion? 
What  likelihood  is  there  that  he  will  combine  the 


111 


!5iJ?55Xil5lLfffli]^DLOSS        99 

interior  recoUecUon,  the  becoming  posture  anrt 
the  decorous  general  demeanor  wWch  should  ac 
company  the  worthy  recital  of  vocal  praye"  it 
as  to  S;  ^.7  '"mentably  often  he  faiHot  on  y 
as  to  the  digne  ac  devote,"  but  even  a,  regards 
the  mmnnum  of  attention  requisite  to  tb^  vaHH 
discharge  of  his  daily  debtl  "" 

wan"  of  tT^'^H'"'"  °'  •"""»"  """'^  that  a 
our  tastes.  No  worl  unleSa^L"  fn 'aSTf'rl" 
well.  Unless  an  ecclesiastic  has  learned  to  love 
?ron,'»     "•^'l-^'^™'^'  ''«  ^»  ^carcdy  derive 

fhf  ^K      t^  ^"""^  '"  "^"y  d^™"*  members  of 
danger"?  h'i:"-"'""^  """"^  """  '"ere  i,  cerLl?y' 

faulfs  imnJ^l  r""""*.*"  8""'  "f  ""-nberless 
faults,  imperfections,  and  venial  sins,  even  though 

he  does  perform  all  that  is  rigorously  invo°™d 
m  the  obligation  of  the  Office.    One  of  Ze  s„r 
pnses  that  assuredly  await  the  average  cleric  who 
IS  happily  destined  to  reach  Purgato?v  isXTm 
mense  debt  contracted,  throughTbe^^evil  '   W 

osaftherr ^fff^'^  "T*"  T""  "'^^  -S^«''^ 
to  say  their  Office-and  rarely  said  it  really  well 

of  so  maT  e'^'™'  «P'.="'««on  of  the  remLn  ss 
ot  so  many  ecclesiastics  in  the  accomplishment  of 
this  du  y  IS  their  failure  to  understand,  or  at  ?east 
L"1"?)'  f^iuently,  the  excellence  of  fteCa 
nonical  Hours,  and  the  motives  by  which  the 
Church  was  actuated  in  constraining  W  miiT 


100 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


i      I' 


.1  !r*  i'*  f  P®''"y  *^"^  **^«*  "^i«»  desolation  is 
all  the  land  made  desolate;  because  there  is  none 
that  considereth  in  the  heart."    How  many  priests 
of  the  readers  acquaintance  read,  even  once  a 
year,  a  treatise  on  the  Divine  Office,  supposing 
that  such  a  volume  can  be  found  among  their 
nooks?   How  many  are  conversant  with  the  beau- 
tiful symbohsm  of  the  different  Hours,  or  appre- 
ciate the  significant  collocation  of  the  constituent 
parts  of  each?    How  many  possess  any  further 
knowledge  of  the  history  of  the  Breviary  than  a 
hazy  notion  that  it  is  a  compilation  made  by  the 
s  othful  monks  of  other  days,  who  had  nothing 
else  to  do  than  recite  interminable  prayers,  an 
occupation  palpably  ill-suited  to  their  overworked 
successors  in  modem  times. 

This  lack  of  information  concerning  Uic  Of- 
fice partially  accounts  for  the  slight  importance 
attached  to  it  by  many  priests,   and  for  their 
judging  to  its  recitation  anything  beyond  what  is 
stnctly  exacted  by  the  law.    Let  the  preacher  of 
an  ecclesiastical  retreat  venture    to    discuss    the 
Breviarj'  in  one  of  his  conferences,  and  suggest 
that   the  recitation   of  the  Office  should  mean 
something  more  than  the  merely  mechanical  ut- 
terance of  tfie  words  composing  the  psalms  and 
lessons;  and  probably  half  his  hearers  will  accuse 
hini  of  talking  "high  spirituality."  while  a  consid- 
erable number  of  the  other  half  will  shake  tiieir 
heads  and  regret  the  fact  that,  "The  fellow  is  not 
practical." 


I51.??5Zi^5I=    GAIN  AND  LOSS 


101 


Practical!    What  a  colossal  hunibuc  this  shih 

M^!!  .K  •  "'"  "^-^ntial  celebration  of  Holv 
Mass.  he  importance  of  careful  prepare Uon  for 
preach,ng-and  how  glibly  he  disposes  of "al 

Tp^aX^ar^rart-r^^^ 

.werable  argument) :  ••AFvrA  weH  in  .hT"" 
my  dear  sir.  but  your  discou,^7is  n"  ^racUeap: 

IatasTn;o"ar  l"  '"*  """'""I "'  •"»  1»«  hetans. 
lates  into  actual  pracUce  much  of  what  he  nro 
fesses  to  disregard  as  "beauUful  theoiyronly  "  ^ 
r.l^T'u"^''  *'«'  "  '""«  impossibk  to  do  the 
et^naTrvatr-  '^'  "^  "  ^^^  <>"'  ^^ 

S  .J^..  ,.  P."*"  "'  '"  *e  esteem  in  which  he 
wh?h  K  °'u  *f  D^'-e  Office,  and  the  manner  in 
which  be  should  discharge  the  obligation  of  rTcH 
mg  . ,  certainly  do  not  deserve  to  be  canedTm 
practicable  theories.  On  the  contra^,  .h^y  '^l 
easiy  reducible  to  actual  perfonna^'e  by\ny 
cleric  whose  good-will  is  at  all  commensurate  ^th 

ststlThe"  wh"=  """  V-f  '™'y  practical  e«i* 
siasUc  IS  he  who.  recognizing  the  wisdom  of  such 

Sull;"!"  ™"""-''?'"  -ff-ts  to  follow  , hem 
taithfully.    No  mimmizing  of  his  responsibilities 


102 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


fho»  1?  ^."   **•  *  P"^'*  ^^°  ^°  «^«y  with  the  fact 
that  he  18  primarily  a  man  of  God.  dedicated  in 

a  special  manner  to  the  highest  possible  life,  and 

tK)und  by  a  thousand  considerations  to  the  wor- 

w?  *u"°  u  P"""'"^  °^  **»^  ever-blessed  Trinity. 
Whether  he  fully  realizes  and  accepts  all  the T 
!  Xr  »  ^"^T^'»^"ts  of  his  exalted  position,  or 
strives  to  underrate  their  numbe.  and  restrict 
heir  power  of  binding,  it  is  none  the  less  incon- 
triable  that  when  he  entered  the  sanctuarv  and 

amoT^H  T'''  ^°'""^^"'"  ^'  ^"^°"^d  himself 
among  the  chosen  band  to  whom,  principallv  is 
entrusted  the  Church  Militant's  function  of  Li! 
tating  Jie  incessant  service  of  adoration  and 
thanksgiving  offered  to  the  Triune  God  by  the 
Church  Glorious  and  Triumphant. 

Not  merely,  then,  as  an  individual  wavfarer  on 
earth,  does  the  cleric  pray  when  he  recites  the 
Canonical  Hours,  but  as  the  special  representa- 
tive of  the  congregation  of  all  the  faithful,  as  their 
leader,  spokesman  and  advocate-a  consideration 
which  may  well  a-^centuate  the  fervor  of  his  peti- 
tions and  his  determination  to  make  them  potent. 
The  Divme  Office  is  the  prayer  of  the  Church,  and 
the  pnest.  with  Breviary  in  hand,  is  the  Church's 
ambassador,   dowered  with  her  credentials  and 
charged  with  the  mission  of  proffering  to  God  the 
homage  of  her  worship  and  her  gratitude.     To 
him  also,  in  this  quality  of  ambassador,  do  all 
the  members  of  the  Church  appeal,  begging  him 
to  obtain  for  them  from  Heaven  the  graces  of 
which  they  stand  in  need— perseverance  for  the 


-____I5L55?If^5^lGAIN  AND  LOSS 


103 


just,  repentance  for  the  sinner,  forUtude  for  t'le 

fTr'n  "'to"  H  '^'''T'''  '^^*^  «°^  hope  and  love 
for  al .    To  shut  one's  eyes  to  these  truths  and  to 

their  legitimate  bearing  on  the  manner  of  recit 
ing  the  Office,  is  to  be  the  very  revere  of  prac" 
tica  .  IS  to  Ignore  the  patent  significance  and  im- 
port of  the  priestly  calhng.  and  to  outdo  in  foUy 
the  veriest  visionaries  that  ever  mistook  fantastic 
day-dreams  for  substantial  realities. 

Again,  no  member  of  the  clergy  will  presum- 
ably deny  that  prayer  is  a  duty  from  which  he 
canno   safely  dispense  himself.  The  necelsity  and 
importance  of  this  exercise  of  the  Christian  iffe 
has  been  the  theme  of  too  many  of  his  instructions 
to  his  people  to  admit  any  doubt  as  to  the  ordin- 
ary priest's  thorough  conviction  that  prayerTs   n- 
dispensable  to  the  common  faithfu^and  afZ 
tion  to  the  clergy,  from  whom,  since  they  have 
received  much,  "much  will  be  required "     This 
necessity  once  admitted,  can  any  course  of  action 
be   more  genmnely   practical   than   that   of   the 
cleric   who  makes   of   the   obligatory  recitation 
of  the  Breviary  a  real  prayer,  vivifying  by  the 
emobons  of  the  heart  and  the  elevation  of  the 
soul  to  God.  words  that  would  otherwise  be  mean- 
ingless formulas,  mechanically  uttered  and  prof- 
iting nought?    No  petitions  of  his  own  composing 
r  ^^T^r^^^^  '"  excellence  with  those  scattered 
through  the  Canonical  Hours.     «A  hundred  pri- 
vate prayers,"  says  St.  Alphonsus  Liguori,  "are 
not  of  so  much  value  as  a  single  prayer  of  the 
Breviary.      In  truth,  whether  our  object  in  pray- 


104 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


ing  be  to  acknowledge  God's  supreme  dominion 
over  us  as  over  all  creatures,  to  appease  His  anger 
aroused  by  our  sins,  to  return  Him  thanks  for 
the  benefits  constantly  showered  upon  us,  or  to 
solicit  from  His  infinite  goodness  the  assistance 
we  need  in  order  that  we  may  walk  in  the  foot- 
steps of  our  model  Priest,  Jesus,  the  divine  Office 
accomplishes  each  of  those  ends  more  excellently 
and  efficaciously  than  any  other  form  of  prayer 
that  heart  or  lips  can  utter. 

It  is  evident,  then,  that  the  priest  who  persists 
in  viewing  the  Breviary  as  a  hardly  tolerable  bur- 
den, and  who  consequently  recites  it  as  the  rest- 
less .chool-boy  recites  his  reading  lesson,  is  ob- 
livious of  his  true  interests,  and  is  willfully  dam- 
ming up  a  copious  stream  of  grace — a  stream 
sadly  needed,  perhaps,  for  the  irrigation  of  his 
drouth-stricken  soul.  Comparatively  few,  indeed, 
are  the  ecclesiastics  whose  method  of  saying  their 
Office  is  not  susceptible  of  judicious  revision  i 
the  lines  of  becoming  posture,  distinct  and  i  .- 
hurried  utterance,  attention  to  the  meaning  of 
psalms  and  lessons,  frequent  aspirations  in  uni- 
son with  the  passages  recited,  and  habitual  spir- 
itual union  with  the  heavenly  choir  of  whose 
never-ending  anthem  our  Canonical  Hours  form 
earth's  most  faithful  echo.  All  such  revision 
would  be  a  manifest  blessing,  tending,  as  it  cer- 
tainly would,  to  the  greater  glory  of  God,  the 
Church's  benefit,  and  the  personal  sanctification 
of  the  clergy. 


(I 


.    IX 
PREACHING  AND  RHETORIC 

of  thr;rta%rai?o'ri?lr/*'  ^r'^^l  •*"»''**  •^•^  t^en^wlve. 
l.nRu.ge,  the  pto«Si„,«^t^^^^^  ""«*  "«^--t"'  <><»'ect 

th«  Id,  of  true  eiotet?.^8ri^r,'o:y'^\r,;^^^  -t  ^«Pi- 

i-  the  UL*?;  0  "L^itZ^nl?^^^^^  «>'  «'•  P'J«^ 

ough  a  knowledire  o^  Ti.   *I     ?*^"*-     ^*  "*'0"'<i  acquire  co  thor- 

^'.k  aad  ;TlWt  ?o'  XXj-.^^-.^^iir  A'"*^  '-  '"'«  *^ 

Ph«^  Slf '^  '^°^T  '°"*«^°»  °°«  word  that 
*     has  better  reason  than  most  others  to  protest 

against  the  treatment -to  which  it  is  subjeSbv 

the  pubhc  m  general,  and  by  the  clergy  in  partiV 

ular.  that  word  may  well  be  "rhetoril''    pS- 

ently  degraded,  vilified,  and  slandered,  it  is  ha- 

bitually  accused  of  extravagances  quite  forei^  to 

Its  nature,  and  unjustly  convicted  of  crimS^  at 

utter  variance  with  its  principles.    It  is  auesUon- 

able  whether  "Jesuits"  and  "Jesuitism'?  presen 

)  the  opaque  mtelligence  of  a  rabid  A.  P.  A  fan- 

fhlS.*"^  r""-'  1"*°"*"*^  «"^  ^«°*«»««  'potions  of 
"r3  '•f«V.T'u^"°°  "^^^  ^^  "rhetoric"  and 
rhetorical"  to  the  minds  of  a  multitude  of  peo- 
ple whose  Ignorance  is  far  less  excusable.  In  the 
vocabulary  of  many  a  priest,  these  words  appar- 
enUy  have  a  stigma  of  opprobrium  attached  to 
them;  thry  are  invariably  employed  in  the  sense 
of  a  reproachful  characterization,  and  are  never 

105 


.<  ' 


106 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


even  thought  v  f  as  availably  synonyms  for  what 
may  be  excellent  and  admirable  in  oral  and  writ- 
ten discourse.  As  applied  specifically  to  preach- 
ing, the  terms  are  commonly  used  with  an  im- 
propriety as  glaring  as  it  is  absurd.  To  say  that 
a  sermon  is  rhetorical  is,  in  the  estimation  of  no 
small  number  of  clerics,  to  pronounce  one  of  the 
most  damnatory  criticisms  possible— is  to  exclude 
the  preacher  from  the  category  not  merely  of  ef- 
fective speakers,  but  of  sensible  men  as  well. 

Among  all  the  counsels  given  to  the  young 
priest  as  to  t«ie  style  of  his  discourses,  there  arc 
few  more  common,  and  none  less  necessary,  than: 
Avoid  being  rhetorical.    From  the  persistent  de- 
nunciation, found  in  many  clerical  handbooks  and 
heard  in  most  clerical  circles,  of  this  supposed 
capital  fault,  one  would  imagine  that  the  majority 
of  priests,  or  at  least  a  very  considerable  number 
of  them,  are  as  a  rule  excessively  elaborate  in  the 
composition  of  their  sermons,  finically  elegant  in 
the  construction  of  their  sentences,  and  ultra-lux- 
uriant in  their  use  of  ambitious  figures  of  speech. 
That  such  faults  characterized  the  priests  of  some 
former  age  is  possibly  true;  but,  if  so,  the  average 
preacher  of  that  age  difl'ered  very  materially  in 
his  methods  from  the  average  preacher  of  ours. 
The  twentieth  century  priest  who  can  be  justly 
charged  with  giving  immoderate  attention  to  the 
expression  of  his  pulpit  utterances,  is  the  excep- 
tion, not  the  rule;  as  applied  to  the  great  mass  of 
our  preachers,  such  a  charge  would  be,  on  the 
face  of  it,  ridiculously  false.    For  one  priest  who 


_P^:EAcwm_Am  rhetoric 


107 


gard   t  in  tL?»    1^        "■"*  P^'UM'ly  disre- 

appropriately  begin  „i,h  sUeTuch'  iZducti™ 

i,.'.  I..?*""'«  """"'•=  "f  «"  American  h"mo" 
1st 8  lecture  on  farminfl-   "Who#   t  i         ""'"or- 

farming  i,  mighty  li«!e."'         ^'  '  ''"°*  "■«"" 

It  cannot  of  course  be  denied  that  here  an? 

he^dc-rti'v'  rr  '^  y°""«"  members  of 
me  cic  gy,  may  be  found  a  few  nrt^ai^h^^  „,u 

apparently  consider  the  substance  of  tetthouaM 
subovdmate  to  its  expression,  and  who  are  cm 
ceraed  less  with  the  matter  of  what  Tev  ,av  thar" 

r.  LI  '":,T"""'' °' "'y"'«  «•    Nor  neJd  the  faci 
be  Ignored  that  an  occasional  minister  of  Th    di 
vine  word  sacrifices  nervousness  and  viri  L  of 
style  to  an  undue  fondness  for  rhythJca l^a 


106 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


dcnccs  or  meretricious  ornaments.  There  may 
even  be  some  t  'ose  predilection  for  so-called  fine 
wriUng  leads  tnem  to  preach  above  the  heads  of 
their  congregation,  under  the  mistaken  impres- 
sion that  grandiloquence  is  eloquence,  and  sound 
an  effecUve  subsUtute  for  sense.    These,  however 
are  extreme  cases;  they  are  far  more  rarely  met 
with  than  are  instances  of  the  equally  deplorable 
opposite  extreme;  and  even  were  such  cases  ten 
Umes  more  numerous  than  they  really  are.  they 
would    sUll    furnish    no    substantial    argument 
against  the  Upplication  of  rhetorical  principles  to 
the  building  up  of  the  sermon. 

Far  from  being  the  legiHmate  outcome  of  the 
study  of  rhetoric,  the  errors  just  mentioned  are 
not  only  not  countenanced  by  rhetoricians,  but 
are  expressly  and  unequivocally  condemned  by 
every  expositor  of  the  science  from  Campbell  and 
Blair  and  Whately  to  Hepburn  and  Hari  and  Ge- 
nung.    The  impression  that  the  sole,  or  the  prin- 
cipal, business  of  rhetoric  is  to  robe  commonplace 
thought  m  a  showy  dress  and  set  it  off  with  the 
glittering  tinsel  of  tawdry  omamente,  is  not  more 
generally  prevalent  than  it  is  thoroughly  erro- 
neous.   That  such  an  impression  should  prrvail 
among  those  who  have  never  studied  the  science 
IS  not,  perhaps,  remarkable;  but  that  a  notion  so* 
radically  false  should  be  entertained  by  men  who 
presumably  were  at  one  period  of  their  lives  con- 
versant with  at  least  the  elementary  principles  of 
rhetonc,  is  to  our  mind  inexplicable.    For,  after 
all,  rhetoric,  or  the  si '  jf  discourse,  is  based 


_PRBACHING_AND  RHETORIC 


Ji09 

.cqul.lUon  of  S  an^^'S?  '^  '?'"*'"="'«  ">  ">« 
colmur<catl  „r  ,ho' r"'"*" '"  ">e  effective 

meiKly  inveigl         w  .h  «  <  i   T"""  *'«'  "«''«• 
B«lne  that  h,  ..  language,  may  im- 

pronounced  bv  .  rv  rl.i,.,^i  '  !?  ''"  ''"" 
and  which  I,e-»,  „ Za^/LTJ^v  Tn  ""  """"y- 
•core  of  rhetorwal  ,"  ,;  ,VX  iL  "  ""''  ""l"'  " 
and  college..  ''    "  <""'  whooU 

flcialiUe,.  tCw  tX  TheTr^ir?""'""'  '* 

catechi,,  preparing  „   claM  i^^hiWrefforTr^I 

Communion  or  Conflrmation.  *"' 

Rhetonc  is  concerned   with   everv  di»rn„~. 

»  nTanTacti^C'™";:-  --«.  -  P-ua": 

good  or  bad,  eifecti\p  ni'  f..#ii«     i         »y'a"veiy 
revPMP     "TK^  '^"*"®'  eloquent  or  the 

p^Xugh^"  rarnxrif  "u«hi^i  rs 

law,  inherent  in  the  mind,  which  we  are  at  libert^ 


110 


PIUESTLY  PRACTICE 


r; 


--rnrwm  S: 


to  violate,  but,  if  we  violate  them,  tiic  discourse 
will  foil  to  realize  its  end."  The  knowledge  and 
full  mastery  of  these  laws,  with  a  ''ew  to  their 
practical  observance  in  speaking  or  waiting,  is  the 
prime  object  of  the  study  of  rhetoric;  and  any  dis- 
paragement of  such  study  is,  in  its  ultimate  analy- 
sis, scarcely  less  puerile  than  would  be  the  con- 
demnation of  grammar  or  logic. 

Restricting  the  phrase-  to  its  legitimate  mean- 
ing, to  "preach  rhetorically"  is  to  preach  with 
propriety,  elegance,  and  force;  it  is  to  present  the 
matter  of  the  sermon  in  the  manner  best  calcu- 
lated to  produce  In  the  hearers  the  effect  desired; 
and  hence,  properly  speaking,  the  more  rhetorical 
the  preacher,  the  better  will  be  the  preaching. 
Paradoxical  as  it  may  sound  to  some,  it  is  never- 
theless strictly  true  t.'iat  every  good  discourse, 
whether  religious  or  profanr  is  rhetorical:  no 
orator,  in  or  out  of  the  pulpit,  ever  speaks  to  the 
purpose  without  consciously  or  unconsciously 
conforming  to  those  laws  which  rhetoric  enjoins 
as  necessary  to  the  adequate  and  forcible  expres- 
sion of  thought. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed  that,  in  penning  the 
foregoing  paragraphs,  the  writer  has  been  obliv- 
ious of  the  stock  objections  urged  by  a  certain 
class  of  priests  against  the  studious  composition 
of  sermons.  He  has  not  been  unmindful  of  the 
formidable  array  of  quotations  from  the  Fathers 
of  the  Church,  in  which  rhetoric  seems  to  be  de- 
spised as  inconsistent  with  the  dignity  of  the 
preacher's  office;  nor  has  he  lost  sight  of  St.  Paul's 


JPBEACHINO  AND  RHBTOHIC 


m 


H„„.       °"  P'-™':''!"*     Such  .Icreotypcd  auota 

ft.«.«  .k     "'*^/ *""*'"  and  Saints,  heina  detnrhed 
from  the  context  which  best  explains  their  mean 
•      o?;irtoT'"".^  interpreted  in  a  sensTuTerlv" 
such^nh*  """*''  °^  *»'^''-  ""thors:  and  tha^ 

such  phrases  as  are  quoted  above  are  expressive 
of  far  other  qualities  than  those  which  manlaUh 
denouncers  of  the  rhetorical  sernTon  woiw  havP 

dUK'cond"  *°  ^'''-  Th^ Vlthe'rs'rn! 
aouDtedly  condemn  aflTected  elesanrp    »».»„».. 

exprcion.  .uperfluou,  ornamTnf  and  tZ^Z 

cxce»,e,  which  characerized  much  oHhc  rhetoric 

there  be  found  the  slightest  censure  of  the  pri"c 
pies   inculcated  by   modem   rhetoricians    ni„f 
those  qualities  of  style  which  are  7heT;»°     ? 
resuit  of  the  practical  »pp.icaHoTof"'.hJ;eCn''cN 

II  was  not  one  of  the  Fathers,  but  a  rhetorician 
who  in  h.s  mtroduction  to  a  courae  of  eet"re, 
which  have  proved  the  storehouse  of  most  ™b^e! 

acciarod  that  his  purpose  was:  "to  explode  fnlJ 
ornament,  to  direct  attention  more  toward  sub- 


112 


PEIBSTLY  PRACTICE 


I*   ii 

ll 


stance  than  show,  to  recommend  good  sense  as 
the  foundation  of  all  good  composition,  and  sim- 
plicity as  essential  to  all  true  ornament"  The 
same  author.  Dr.  Blair,  one  of  the  most  noted  ex- 
pounders of  those  rhetorical  principles  against 
which  the  young  preacher  is  so  assiduously 
warned,  has  this  to  say  of  the  sermon :  "With  re- 
spect to  style,  that  which  the  pulpit  requires  must 
certainly,  in  the  first  place,  be  very  perspicuous. 
As  discourses  spoken  there  are  calculated  for  the 
instruction  of  all  sorts  of  hearers,  plainness  and 
simplicity  should  reign  in  them.  All  unusual, 
swollen,  high-sounding  words  should  be  avoided; 
especially  all  words  that  are  merely  poetical  or 
merely  philosophical.  ...  In  a  sermon,  no 
points  or  conceits  should  appear,  no  affected 
quaintness  or  smartness  of  expression.  These 
derogate  much  from  the  dignity  of  the  pulpit,  and 
give  to  the  preacher  the  air  of  foppishness  which 
he  ought,  above  all  things,  to  shun."  Now,  there 
is  nothing,  we  take  it,  particularly  obnoxious  in 
such  recommendations  as  these;  and  even  St.  Al- 
phonsus  Liguori  would  hardly  condemn  the 
preacher  whose  sermons  displayed  conformity  to 
such  like  rhetorical  precepts. 

Perhaps  the  most  egregious  mistake  commonly 
made  by  clerical  talkers  on  this  subject  of  preach- 
ing is  the  supposition  that  the  simplicity  of  style 
so  universally  enjoined  as  the  most  suitable  for 
pulpit  oratory,  is  a  negative  quality,  importing 
merely  a  lack  of  study  or  effort  in  the  choice  of 
words,  the  construction  of  sentences,  and  the  dis- 


PREACHING  AND  RHETORIC 


113 


position  of  the  various  parts  of  the  discourse  The 
extemporaneous  preacher  who  fancies  Tat"  be- 
cause he  speaks  right  on,  in  a  natural,    ree  and 
easy  manner   and  sedulously  shuns  the  bugbear 
of  figurative    anguage,  his  sermon  possesses  tWs 
quahty,  mamfests  simplicity,  not  of  stvle   but  of 
understanding.     If  the  Fathers,  whosf  authority 
s  so  often  adduced  in  vindication  of  this  unstud- 
ed  manner  of  expression,  were  to  listen  to  the 
impropneties  and  inaccuracies  of  dicUon,  the  iu! 

l^ZaV   '^'?'*'    ^°^    ambiguous    phrases,    the 
stragghng   clauses    and    dislocated    periods     the 

7iZ?2""".  '"P'*^*'^°  °'  P^°"«  platitudes  and 
stereotyped  commonplaces,  the  whole  combination 
of  undignified  twaddle  and  forceless  prosing  that 
masquerades  nowadays  under  the  tiUe  of  a  "sim- 
pie  sermon,  they  would  assuredly  feel  like  ex- 
claimmg,  m  a  paraphrase  of  Madame  Roland:  "O 
Simphcity!  Simplicity!  How  many  crimes  are 
committed  in  thy  name!" 

The  genuine  simplicity  which,  according  to  the 
rhetoricians  not  less  than  the  Fathers,  should  dis! 
tingmsh  the  se^on.  "stands  opposed,  not  to  oi^a- 
ment.  but  to  affectation  of  ornament,  or  appear- 
ance of  labor  about  our  style-  and  it  is  a  capl^l 
error  to  suppose  that  so  excellent  a  quatity  can 
be  acquired  without  studied  effort  and  constant 
pract  ce     No  man  is  ordinarily  so  apt  to  speak  in 
a  style  the  very  reverse  of  simple  as  the  priest 
who  preaches  without  adequate  preparation  And 
just  here  let  it  be  said  tiiat  most  of  the  adverae 


114 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


ii  ' 


cnUcism  of  rhetoric  in  preaching  comes  from 
clencs  whose  preparation  of  their  sermons  is 
habitually  madequate.  The  time  and  attention 
which  conscientious  preachers  devote  to  the  com- 
position of  their  discourses  is  a  tacit  condemna- 
tion of  the  culpable  negligence  or  laziness  of  less 
exemplary  ministers  of  the  word  of  God;  and  very 
often  these  latter  are  merely  throwing  a  sop  to 
the  Cerberus  of  their  own  conscience  when  they 
utter  their  loud-mouthed  denunciations  of  the 
rhetorical,  or  what  to  their  minds  is  practically 
the  same  thing,  the  carefully  prepared,  sermon. 

That  much  harm  is  done  to  youthful  preachers 
by  this  ill-advised  talk  of  their  elders  is  incon- 
testable.   Many  a  young  curate  is  led  to  give  up 
writing  his  sermons,  or  even  preparing  them  with 
a  care  at  all  commensurate  to  tiieir  importance, 
simply  because  of  sarcastic  references  to  "high- 
flown  sentiments,"  "rounded  periods,"  "the  flow- 
ers of  rhetoric,"  "the  ambition  to  be  eloquent," 
and  similar  platitudes,  coming  from  a  pastor  who 
never  grows  animated  unless  when  scolding,  and 
is  eloquent  only    )n  the  subject  of  his  pew-rents. 
A  fondness  for  figurative  language  is,  after  all. 
not  an   unpardonable  off'ence  in   a  very  young 
preacher;  and  if  at  first  his  style  is  somewhat 
overioaded  with  ornament,  it  is  a  fault  that  gen- 
erally cures  itself,  his  own   taste,  as  he  grows 
older,  leading  him  to  reject  all  figures  that  are 
merely  showy,  while  retaining  those  which  give 
to  his  speech  additional  effectiveness  and  vivacity. 


_£55££HJNO^AND_BHBTOK[C  115 


THE    WEEK-DAY    MASS 

One  Mass  is  worth  more  tban  all  the  treasures  of  the  world. — 
B.  Leonard  of  Port  Maurice. 

The  Mass  is  the  abridgment  of  divine  love  and  the  com- 
pendium of  all  the  benefits  conferred  on  men. — St.  Bonaventure. 

Necessario  fatemur,  nullum  aliud  opus  adeo  sanctum  ae 
divinum  a  Ghristi  fidelibus  tractari  posse,  quam  hoc  tremendum 
mysterium. — Cone.  Trid. 

"IF  I  were  a  parish  priest,"  recently  exclaimed 
1  a  fervent  convert,  "it  seems  to  .me  that  I 
would  never  rest  until  the  gieat  body  of  my  pa- 
rishioners were  habitual  attendants  at  daily  Mass.** 
"If  you  were  a  parish  priest,"  replied  a  pastor  who 
had  overheard  the  remark,  "you  would  in  all 
probability  be  very  well  satisfied  if  your  people 
habitually  attended  Mass  even  on  Sundays  and 
holidays."  The  pastor  presumably  looked  upon 
the  convert  as  a  sort  of  visionary  enthusiast, 
wrapped  up  in  a  longing  for  unattainable  ideals, 
and  impatient,  as  converts  are  ofttimes  wont  to 
be,  of  low  standards  of  pie*/  among  their  breth- 
ren in  the  faith.  The  convert  possibly  regarded 
the  pastor  as  a  priest  not  overburdened  with  that 
zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls 
which  his  profession  calls  for,  and  his  ordination 
presupposed  him  possessed  of.  The  judicious 
reader  will  perhaps  be  of  the  opinion  that  the  re- 
mark of  the  layman  was  as  natural  and  intelligi- 

116 


THE  WEEK-DAY  MASS 


117 


ble  as  the  reply  of  the  cleric  was  flippant  and  in- 
adequate. 

It  is  assuredly  not  surprising  that  an  intelligent 
observer  should  be  struck  by  the  glaring  incon- 
sistency between  the  belief  of  all  Catholics  con- 
cerning the  Mass.  and  the  practice  of  a  great  many 
of  them  as  regards  attendance  thereat.     Thor- 
oughly convinced  that  the  oblation  of  the  adorable 
Sacrifice  is  the  central  fact  of  all  Christian  wor- 
ship how  can  Catholics  nevertheless  manifest,  as 
to  the  matter  of  taking  an  actual  part  in  the  obla- 
tion, so  lamentable  an  indifference?     For,  that 
thousands  and  thousands  o'  the  faithful  are  in- 
diiferent  in  this  respect,  it  would  be  futile  to  deny 
Even  among  the  steriing  Catholics  who  form  per- 
haps   the   majority   of   every   parish,    men    and 
women  faithful  in  the  performance  of  all  essen- 
tial duties,  "good,  practical  Catholics,"  as  we  are 
wont  to  call  them,  how  many  are  there  not  who 
entirely   neglect   the    daily   performance   of   the 
grandest  and  most  efficacious  of  all  acts  of  piety? 
When  the  celebrant  of  the  week-day  Mass,  in 
the  average  parish  of  the  land,  turns  around  to 
say  "Orate,  fratres,"  what  proportion  of  those  who 
without  notable  inconvenience  could  be  present 
are  really  there  to  join  their  prayers  to  his?    Yet 
all  his  people  firmly  believe  that  at  the  altar  is 
being  consummated  the  most  sublime  and  most 
beneficial  sacrifice  possible  on  earth  or  in  heaven. 
With  a  certainty  precluding  all  shadow  of  doubt, 
they  know  that  "when  the  beams  of  the  morning 
sun  come  in  at  tiie  windows  of  the  church,  and 


118 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


i 


fall  for  a  moment  into  the  uncovered  chalice,  and 
glance  there  as  if  among  precious  stones  with  a 
resUess.  Umid  gleaming,  and  the  priest  sees  it,  and 
the  light  seems  to  vibrate  into  his  own  heart, 
quickening  his  faith  and  love,  it  is  the  Blood  of 
God  which  is  there,  the  very  living  Blood  whose 
first  fountains  were  in  the  Immaculate  Heart  of 
Mary."* 

That  the  Mass  is  the  holiest  of  acts  and  the 
most  pleasing  to  God,  that  it  is  potential  beyond 
all  other  acts  in  appeasing  the  divine  anger  and 
victoriously  combating  the  forces  of  hell,  and 
that  of  all  conceivable  sacrifices  it  is  incompar- 
ably the  most  fruitful  of  graces  and  blessings  to 
men  on  earth  and  of  relief  and  solace  to  the  souls 
m  purgatory,  these  are  truisms  familiar  as  house- 
hold words  to  every  adult  Catholic,  yet  sadly  in- 
operative as  to  their  influence  upon  the  conduct 
of  many.  Daily  attendance  at  the  oblation  of  the 
unbloody  Sacrifice  is  certainly  the  best  of  all  de- 
votions. Whose  fault  is  it  that  it  is  so  very  gen- 
erally neglected?  Primarily  and  principally, 
doubtless,  the  fault  of  the  faithful  themselves; 
but  in  a  measure,  also,  and  sometimes  in  a  large 
measure,  the  fault  of  the  pastors  as  well. 

It  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  in  every 
parish  there  is  to  be  found  a  considerable  number 
of  fervent  souls,  genuinely  religious  men  and 
women,  who  are  so  far  consistent  Catholics  that 
they  habitually  consider  salvation  to  be  the  para- 
mount  affair  in  life,  who  daily  acquit  themselves 

*F»ber,    "The  Precious  Blood." 


THE  WEEK-DAY  MASS 


119 


of  the  obligaUon  of  seeking  God's  assistance  in 
prayer,  and  who  approach,  every  few  weeks  at 
leaau  the  tribunal  of  penance  and  the  Holy  Table. 
Ihat  such  people  do  not  in  addition  frequently, 
not  to  say  habitually,  attend  the  week-day  Mass, 
IS  probably  due  to  one  of  two  causes:  Either  the 
opportunity  is  wanting,  or  their  pastors  have  not 
sufficiently  impressed  upon  them  the  excellence 
of  the  practice  and  the  incalculable  advantages  to 
b    denved  therefrom.    While  the  latter  cause  is 
undoubtedly  the  more  common,  the  former  is  not 
so  rare  as  is  desirable;  and  all  too  frequently  one 
is  made  aware  of  the  existence  of  both. 

The  pastor  who  wishes  to  sec  an  appreciable 
number  of  his  people  present  at  the  daily  Mass 
must  make  up  his  mind    to    celebrate   regularly 
every  morning,  and  to  celebrate  at  a  fixed  hour. 
Nothing  will  more  speedily  reduce  his  week-day 
congregation  to  a  mere  handful  than  their  uncer- 
tainty as  to  the  question  whether,  on   a  given 
morning,  the  Holy  Sacrifice  will  be  off-ered  or  not. 
If  he  omits  celebrating  once  or  twice  one  week 
and  two  or  three  times  the  next,  if  it  is  no  uncom- 
mon experience  for  the  assembled  parishioners  to 
wait  half  an  hour  or  more  and  then  be  informed 
that  "Father  Edward  is  indisposed  this  morning," 
It  is  tolerably  certain  that  the  number  of  attend- 
ants will  sooner  or  later  dwindle  to  a  few  saintly 
women  whose  piety  is  proof  against  all  disap- 
pointments, and  whose  charity  possibJy  attributes 
to  Father  Edward's  indisposition  a  gravity  that  is 
non-existent. 


I 


IW 


!i 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


Apart  from  any  strict  obligation  rcsUng  upon 
a  pastor  to  celebrate  as  frequently  as  he  can,  ob- 
ligahon  incurred  by  the  reception  of  stipends,  by 
promises,  etc.,  he  can  hardly  be  allowed,  in  the 
matter  of  omitUng  to  say  Mass,  the  same  latitude 
as  might  be  given  to  a  simple  priest  who  is  free 
from  the  burden  of  a  pastoral  charge.    Yet  even 
the  simple  priest  is  advised  to  celebrate  as  often 
as  is  possible.    The  advice  is  based  on  reasons 
wWch  the  Venerable  Bede  thus  groups  together: 
The  pnest  who,  being  prevented  by  no  legitimate 
reason,  does  not  celebrate,  deprives,  as  far  as  in 
him  lies,  the  most  Holy  Trinity  of  the  greatest 
glory  and  most  signal  honor  that  can  be  rendered 
to  it;  the  angels  of  a  sovereign  joy;  sinners  of 
their  pardon;  the  just  of  the  aids  and  graces  which 
they  need;  the  souls  in  purgatory  of  a  consider- 
able relief;  and  the  Church  of  the  spiritual  bene- 
fit of  Jesus  Christ  Himself,  of  the  supreme  rem- 
edy." 

The  truly  zealous  pastor  will  not  only  afford 
his  parishioners  the  opportunity  of  hearing  Mass 
as  often  as  he  reasonably  can;  he  will,  moreover, 
offer  the  Holy  Sacrifice  at  the  hour  best  suited  to 
the  convenience  of  the  majority  of  those  desirous 
of  being  present.  His  celebrating  a  half-hour  or 
an  hour  earlier,  or  later,  than  the  time  which  his 
personal  preference  would  select,  he  will  account 
a  trivial  sacrifice,  amply  compensated  for  by  the 
additional  worshippers  thereby  drawn  to  the 
house  of  God,  for  the  glorification  of  His  name 
and  their  own  spiritual  and  bodily  welfare. 


THE  WEEK-DAY  MASS 


121 


Once  the  hour  is  determined,  however  the 
pansh  priest  will  best  consult  the  interests  of  his 
people  and  best  insure  the  attendance  of  an  in- 
creasing  congregation  by  observing  the  strictest 
punctuality  in  beginning  Mass  at  ?he  appointed 

n^f;  "^^  «  S^"^*-"*  »•"»«.  it  »  mistaken  charity  to 
postpone  Mass.  even  on  Sundays,  for  ten.  fifteen 
or  twenty  minutes,  because  the  church  is  not  well 
filled,  or  the  members  of  the  choir  are  not  all 
nnS'i.^"!*"?  week-days  the  priest  will  lose 
nothmg  by  displaymg  all  the  promptitude  of  the 
most  exact  business  man.  A  daily  Mass  known 
to  be  celebrated  mvariably  at  six  o'clock  is  far 

Z'ctii  f-^  *1^^  participated  in  by  a  numerous 
congrega  ion  than  one  understood  to  begin  "about 
MX  o  clock,  a  phrase  in  which  the  qualifying  term 
su^ests  probable  tardiness  of  unceriain  duration 
and  which  m  any  case  wants  the  deflniteness  and 
precision  that  satisfies  the  orderly  mind. 

Regularity  ahd  pur.ctualitj-  on  the  part  of  the 
celebrant,  then,  are  the  primary  requisites  to  the 
general  practice,  in  any  parish,  of  this  devotion 
to  the  daily  Mass.    If  these  were  the  sole  requisites 
there  would  be  but  little  cause  for  complaint, 
since  m  the  overwhelming  majority  of  parishes 
these  conditions  actually  exist.     That  something 
additic   "1  IS  needed  to  draw  the  people  in  appre- 
ciable nuxnbers  to  the  morning  Sacrifice    is  evi- 
dent from  the  pitifully  empty  churches  in  which 
day  after  day  the  tremendous  Mystery  of  CaJvarv 
18  renewed.    This  additional,  and  equally  essen- 
tial, condition  is  the  vivid  realization,  by  the  faith- 


m 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


fill,  of  the  incompttrable  excellence  of  the  Holy 
Mass;  a  living,  practical  belief  In  the  untold  bless- 
ings of  which  its  devout  attendants  are  the  recip- 
ients; a  firmly  settled  conviction  that  to  treat  the 
Holy  Sacrifice  with  indifi'ercnce,  to  abstain  fr  m 
taking  part  in  it,  when  one  can  readily  do  so,  is 
an  act  of  genuine  folly.  To  animate  the  faithful 
with  such  sentiments  and  to  persuade  them  to  act 
in  conformity  therewith, '»  surely  the  duty  of  (heir 
spiritual  father,  of  the  pastor  whose  mission  it  is, 
not  merely  to  seek  out  and  bring  back  to  the  fold 
the  lost  sheep  of  his  flock,  but  to  lead  all  his  sheep 
to  rich  and  abundant  pasturage. 

This  is  an  age  of  special  devotions,  of  sodalities, 
unions,  apostleships,  conlraternities,  arch-con- 
fraternities, and  pious  associp.tions  of  all  kinds. 
Excellent  as  the  purpose  of  each  may  be,  it  is 
quite  conceivable  that  a  pastor  may  doubt  the 
expediency  of  indiscriminately  recommending  to 
his  people  such  a  multiplicity  of  devotional  exer- 
cises, and  may  hesitate  about  warmly  endorsing 
the  practice  of  any  considerable  number  of  them. 
Granting,  however,  that  he  is  desirous  of  seeing 
his  parishioners  devotional  at  all,  that  he  believes 
in  the  advisability  of  their  performing  any  other 
acts  of  piety  than  those  which  are  of  strict  obliga- 
tion, it  is  difficult  to  imagine  him  feeling  hesitancy 
in  recommending  as  frequent  attendance  as  pos- 
sible at  the  oblation  of  the  august  Sacrifice  of  the 
altar.  Here,  surely,  he  is  secure  and  need  have 
no  scruple  as  to  the  wisdom  of  his  action.  Here 
is  a  subject  upon  which  he  may  insist,  in  season 


THE  WEEKDAY  MASS 


123 


and  out  of  senson,  with  the  certitude  that  he  is  not 
ovenitepping  the  bounds  of  due  discretion.  Here. 
If  he  desires  a  quasi-hobby,  is  one  which  is  per- 
fectly  safe  and  which  he  cannot  pursue  too  as- 
siduously.  If.  in  tiie  zealous  advocacy  of  certain 
other  devotions,  the  warmth  of  one's  feelings  may 
give  rise  to  occasional  exaggerated  statements  con- 
cerning their  excellence  and  advantages,  here  is 
no  such  danger,— on  the  sublimity  of  the  Mass 
and  on  the  benefits  resulting  to  those  who  hear  it 
devoutly,  exaggeration  is  impossible. 

While  it  would  be  a  work  of  supererogation,  if 
not  an  act  of  impertinence  to  the  reverend  read- 
ers of  this  volume  to  insist  at  any  length  on  the 
various  considerations  likely  to  prove  effectual  in 
winning  the  faithful  to  a  more  general  practice 
of  this  salutary  devotion,  a  brief  reference  to 
one  or  two  topics  may  prove  so  far  useful  to  the 
younger  clergy  as  to  suggest  some  lines  of  thought 
to  be  pursued  and  plans  of  arguments  to  be  de- 
veloped. 

And  first,  through  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the 
Mass,  we  most  adequately  accomplish  the  main 
purpose  of  our  existeii  To  honor  and  glorify 
God  is  the  principal  destiny  of  all  created  beings, 
angelic  and  human,  animate  and  inanimate. 
"Praise  ye  him,  all  his  angels;  praise  ye  him,  all 
his  hosts."^  "Every  one  that  calleth  upon  my 
name,  I  have  created  him  for  my  glory."*  "Let  all 
thy  works,  O  Lord,  praise  thee."»    God's  glory,  in 


I  Pi.  exiTil.  2. 

*l8.   xlii,   7. 
'  Ps.  cxJjv,  10. 


IM 


PBIESTLT  PBACTICB 


h  ' 


i 


!  ^ 


a  word,  is  the  ultimate  raiMon  (THre  of  the  uni- 
verse and  all  it  contains — and,  in  greater  degree 
or  less,  that  glory  has  been  given  to  Him  ever  since 
the  morning  stars  praised  Him  together,  **and  all 
the  sons  of  God  made  a  Joyful  melody.**  Now, 
all  the  honor  which  the  augcls  have  ever  rendered 
to  God  by  their  homage,  or  men  have  ever  given 
to  Him  by  their  virtues,  penances,  and  martyr- 
doms, is  as  naught  compared  to  the  glory  which 
God  receives  from  the  celebration  of  a  single 
Mass:  and  this  infinite  honor  may  be  paid  to  the 
Heavenly  Father  by  the  humblest  mortal  who  de- 
voutly attends  the  Holy  Sacrifice. 

Considered  as  a  sacrifice  of  petition,  the  Mass 
is  clearly  the  most  efficacious  means  of  securing 
the  blessings  of  God,  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual. 
"Amen,  amen,  I  say  to  you:  If  you  ask  the 
Father  anything  in  my  name,  he  will  give  it  to 
you."'  If  any  one  mav  confidently  expect  the  ful- 
fillment of  this  promise  of  Jesus  Christ,  it  is  surely 
he  who,  actually  present  at  the  oblation  of  the 
Lamb  of  God,  not  only  asks  in  the  name  of  Jesus, 
but  has  his  petition  presented  to  the  Father  by 
Jesus  himself.  As  a  sacrifice  of  propitiation,  the 
Mass,  being  the  unbloody  renewal  of  the  bloody 
Sacrifice  of  Calvory,  has  an  equally  salutary  effect, 
"the  remission  of  sins.**  "Let  us  go,  therefore, 
with  confidence  to  the  throne  of  grace,  that  we 
may  obtain  and  find  grace  in  seasonable  aid.'** 
Reconciled  by  this  "clean  oblation,"  God  grants 
the  grace  of  penace  to  sinners  guilty  of  Grievous 

*  John  ztI,  28. 
*H«b.  W,  16. 


i; 


THE  WEEKDAY  MASS 


125 


offenses,  and  suffuses  with  the  full  light  of  par- 
don souls  stained  by  only  venial  faults.  Finally, 
as  a  sacrifice  of  satisfaction,  the  Mass.  according 
to  St.  Thomas,  has  the  power  ex  opere  operato  to 
remit  the  temporal  punishment  due  to  our  sins 
because  by  it  "the  fruits  of  the  bloody  Sacrifice 
of  the  Cross  are  distributed  and  received  in  the 
same  abundant  measure."  This  atonement,  still 
due  to  God,  after  the  guilt  of  sin  has  been  re- 
mitted, must  be  made  either  by  voluntary  penace 
and  other  satisfactory  works  here,  or  in  tlir  rl.-ans- 
ing  fires  of  purgatory  hereafter.  Could  liu.e  be 
any  stronger  motive  to  induce  the  faithful  to 
throng  to  the  sacrificial  altar  as  of tr-  rs  they  may? 
•The  tinklings  of  the  Mass-K  new-crea- 

tive words,"  says  Father  Faber,         lip,    he  whole 
aspect  of  the  unconscious  work  ;  )wn  and 

unsuspected  temporal  calamities  ar  Ay  driven 
away,  like  clouds  before  the  wind,  by  the  obla- 
tions of  the  Precious  Blood  ...  Let  us  leave 
off  the  calculation,  and  contemplnte  in  quietude 
the  ocean  of  painstaking  graces,  of  vast  satisfac- 
tions, and  of  kindly  expiations,  into  which  the 
daily  Masses  of  the  Church  outpour  themselves, 
lighting  the  patient  darkness  under  ground,  flash- 
ing up  to  the  skies  as  so  much  of  litional  light 
and  song,  and  beautifying  the  poor,  exiled  earth 
in  the  eye  of  the  all-holy  heavens."  While  these 
graces,  satisfactions,  and  expiations  undoubtedly 
benefit  all  the  children  of  the  Church,  they  are 
just  as  undoubtedly  applied  in  most  copious  super- 
abundance and  with  most  plenary  effect  to  those 


126 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


of  the  faithful  who  take  actual  part  in  the  offer- 
ing of  i]'.M  Sacrifice. 

^  tne  convert  whom  we  quoted  in  the  opening 
par  ^?.ph  of  '.As  essay  had  the  foregoing  con- 
side -..ions  in  nind,  then  his  remark  was  clearly 
neither  irraiicaal  nor  extravagant.  Many  a  pastor 
expends  considerable  energy  on  movements  far 
less  beneficial  to  his  people  than  would  be  the 
promotion  of  a  fuller  attendance  at  daily  Mass; 
and  there  are  comparatively  few  parishes,  perhaps, 
in  which  the  pastors  could  not,  by  the  exertion  of 
a  little  enrnest,  zealous  effort,  speedily  bring  about 
a  notable  increase  in  the  numbers  of  their  morn- 
ing congregations.  It  is,  of  course,  purely  a  ques- 
tion, not  of  obligation,  but  of  devotion,  and  of 
devotion  that  does  not  interfere  with  the  per- 
formance of  other  duties  of  one's  state  in  life. 
We  readily  grant  that  the  devotion  is  imprac- 
ticable to  very  many  Catholics  whose  time  is  not 
at  their  own  disposal ;  but  we  believe  also  that  it  is 
quite  practicable  to  thousands  of  Catholics  who 
habitually  neglect  it.  Pretexts  for  absenting  one- 
self are  easily  discoverable;  but  in  sober  earnest- 
ness, no  Catholic  really  believes  that  the  economy 
of  any  household  ever  suffered,  or  the  prosperity 
of  any  business  man  ever  waned,  because  the  wife 
or  husband  gave  one-half  hour  of  the  day's  forty- 
eight  to  the  worship  of  that  God  on  whose  Provi- 
dence our  life  and  health  and  happiness  depend. 

It  is  pertinent  to  add  that  one  unfailing  result 
of  a  priest's  strenuous  efforts  to  spread  this  best 
of  all  devotions  among  his  people,  is  his  own 


THE   WEEK-DAY  MASS 


127 


fuller  realization  of  the  sublime  dignity  of  the 
Sacrifice  whose  unworthy  minister  he  is,  and  his 
proportionately  greater  care  that  the  effects  of  the 
Mass  ea^  opere  operantis  may  increase  in  fruitful- 
ness  from  day  to  day.  Even  were  this  the  only 
result  attainable,  his  zeal  would  be  abundantly 
rewarded;  for  he  cannot  too  sedulously  shun  the 
danger  of  celebrating  with  irreverence,  inatten- 
tion, or  a  lack  of  actual  devotion.  Viewed  from 
any  standpoint  the  practice  of  attending  daily 
Mass  IS  thus  thoroughly  commendable;  to  flock 
and  pastor  ahke.  it  will  surely  prove  a  source  of 
innumerable  benedictions. 


XI 
THE    PRIESTS'  COMMUNION    LEAGUE 

AS  the  Priests'  Communion  League  has  for  its 
object  the  extension  among  the  faithful  of 
the  practice  of  frequent  and  daily  communion, 
it  will  not  be  irrelevant  to  consider  for  a  moment 
the  bearing  on    that   practice  of   the  particular 
mode  selected  by  our  Lord  for  the  bestowal  upon 
mankind  of  His  divine  love's  incomparable  gift, 
Himself,  His  Body  and  Blood,  Soul  and  Divinity. 
In  view  of  His  undoubted  omnipotence,  we  know 
that,  had  He  so  desired.  He  could  readily  have 
accomplished  the  purpose  of  the  Eucharistic  sacri- 
fice and  sacrament  in  any  one  of  multifarious 
ways  other  than  the  precise  and  definite  one  which 
He  adopted,  the  giving  Himself  to  us  under  the 
'  of  bread  and  wine.    Now,  on  the  face  of  it, 
lot  His  selection  of  this  mode.  His  choice  of 
tiiese  elements,  throw  a  white  light  on  the  fre- 
quency with  which  He  desires  the  sacrament  of 
love  to  be  received  by  His  followers?     Is  there 
anything  forced  or  strained  in  the  contention  that, 
since  H^.  chose  to  give  Himself  to  us  under  the 
form  and  appearance  of  substances  that  constitute 
the  daily  food  of  our  bodies,  it  was  presumably 
because  He  wished  that  we  should  make  His  sacra- 
mental self  the  daily  food  of  our  souls?   Divesting 
our  mind,  in  so  far  as  is  possible,  of  the  notions, 
concepts,  prejudices,  opinions,  and  beliefs  which 

128 


mi 


THE  PHIESTS' COMMUNION  LEAGUE    129 

we  have  acquired,  as  to  this  matter  of  frequent 
commumon,  from  inherited  traditions,  from  toe 
teaching  of  most  theologians,  a^rt  espeda™y  from 

aboutT,  •  ''"'=''  "'  '"'™  "»  PrevaiUng  round 
fn  the^IacrofTn'  'hiWhood-putting  ourselves 
n  ine  place  of  the  AposUes  and  discinlts  and 
faking  account  with  them  of  the  reiSe'd  "n 
stances  m  *hich  Jesus  Christ  declared  Thaf  Z 
flesh  ;s  meat  indeed  and  His  blood  drink  indeeJ- 
does  ,t  not  seem  entirely  natural  that  they  should 
ook  upon  the  Eucharist,  not  as  a  specraFbanquel 

sDirif,^!  ^  .  .  r""' '"' "  y*^''-  •»"  =>'  a  regular 
spiritual  meal  to  be  partaken  of  as  a  matter  of 
course  every  day?  "wuer  oi 

meJX!^?!.*''  '"  '•"'''  "P°"  ">«  »>«'«<•  Sacra- 
pracuce  in  this  respect  was  followed  by  the  earlv 
Chnshans  for  some  centuries,  is  matLr  of  his- 
toncal  record     Later  on,  attendance  at  I^e  Holy 

to  aid  ft:??;;'""  '™'"'^»«-  ""O  "  -  PermisSbJe 
lo  add  that  m  consequence,  that  not  only  post  hoc 

^Lru^Mur  n""'  '"/^'  '"^  Christian^eLme 
a  less  faithful  reflex  of  the  life  of  Christ.    From 

Je^o/dnw"!  i*"'  ^f"  "';'"<""'"'  of  EucharS 
_  ihl,  •"*""  "  "'"'  ^'"'  ^S"'  "•««  was 
ome  L.  tnd^r'-  f  "7  "'  "«^"'  Saints,  a  dis- 
pute.  not  indeed  as  to  the  nature  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  in  Itself,  but  as  to  our  moral  condud 
■n  regard  thereto.  Of  the  two  opposing  v"ews 
one  and  that  with  which  the  majority  of  us  I^e 
probably  most  familiar,   was   that   Jhile.    the^ 


130 


PEIESTLY  PRACTICE 


retically,  the  Church  desires  thai  the  faithful 
should  communicate  frequently,  and  even  daily, 
as  far  as  their  duties  permit,  still  in  individual 
practice  distinction  is  to  be  made  between  soul 
and  soul,  according  to  the  greater  or  less  degree 
of  preparation  and  of  holiness  in  daily  life.  In 
harmony  with  this  view,  or  at  the  least  in  sub- 
stantial agreement  with  it,  were  St.  Thomas 
Aquinas,  St.  Bonaventure,  St.  Ignatius,  Blessed 
John  of  Avila,  St.  Francis  or  Sales,  and  St.  Alphon- 
sus  Liguori. 

The  opposite  view  was  that  no  higher  prepara- 
tion is  essentially  needed  for  daily  reception  of 
the  Eucharist  than  is  required  for  a  single  recep- 
tion, say  at  Easter;  and  that  those  holier  condi- 
tions of  the  soul,  beyond  the  mere  state  of  grace 
and  a  right  intention,  are  not  so  much  prepara- 
tion for  the  Sacrament  as  its  fruits  and  eifects. 

This  second  view  was  authoritatively  endorsed 
by  Pius  X.  in  December,  1905,  when  he  ratified 
and  confirmed  the  decree  Sacra  Tridentina 
Sy nodus  of  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  the  Coun- 
cil. As  that  decree  supplies  the  raison  d'itre  of 
the  Priests'  Communion  League,  and  as  it  is,  more- 
over, in  the  words  of  Bishop  Hedley,  "a  docu- 
ment of  the  first  importance,  forming  a  law  by 
wjiich  theologians  and  confessors  will  henceforth 
have  to  guide  themselves  in  theory  and  practice," 
it  becomes  congruous,  if  not  imperative,  before 
going  further,  to  quote  textually  a  few  at  least  of 
its  provisions.    It  determines,  then: 

1.  Frequent  and  daily  Communion,  as  a  thing 


THE  PRIESTS'  COMMUNION  LEAGUE     131 


bl  the  f?f?*i'y  5^l'^^"3  H  Christ  our  Lord,  and 
fi^^thf!,!  nf  °^lf  P"''*^*''  4°"^^  ^^  open  to  ail  the 
so  thn/'nn  whatever  rank  and  conaition  of  life- 
so  that  no  one,  who  is  in  the  state  of  grace  and 
who  approaches  the  Holy  Table  with  a  rfcht  nnH 
devout  intention,  can  lawfully  be'hiSderef  theTe^ 

„,u^'  ^  "^h*.  intention  consists  in  this-  that  hp 
who  approaches  the  Holy  Table  should  do  so  nol 

3  A Hhon JS1?T  ^""^  *"'"  weaknesses  and  defects* 
commnni!^2?f  f  *  '^  ""Vf^  expedient  that  those  who 
communicate  frequently  or  daily  should  be  free 

fctT^nH?"''  especfally  sucH^as  are  fulfy  de- 
liberate, and  from  any  affection  thereto,  neverthe- 

in' with  fhfn"'"*  *^^V"^^y  ^^  ^'^^  f?om  mortal 
sm  with  the  purpose  of  never  sinning  mortally  in 
fu  ure;  and.  if  tfiey  have  this  sincere  purpose   U 

Lr«?,f«T ^^'^  ^"*-  *^^*  i^'^y  communicantsThould 
gradually  emancipate  themselves  from  even  venial 
sms  and  from  all  affection  thereto. 

Law  7hl!nl*'tr^^  **^^  Sacraments  of  the  New 
«f    '  ,u.^^^  ^^^Y  *^^e  effect  ex  opere  operato 

Son'«?thf H-P'°^?-""  ^  F^u^*^'-  ^ff^^t  in  proper: 
tion  as  the  dispositions  of  the  recipient  are  better- 
therefore  care  is  to  be  taken  that  Holy  S 
munion  be  preceded  by  serious  preparation,  and 
followed  by  a  suitable  thanksgiving  according  to 
each  one's  strength,  circumstances,  and  dS 

5.  Ihat  the  practice  of  frequent  and  daily  Com- 
munion may  be  carried  out  with  greater  priidence 
«hn„lTr  « W^"^  "^.^"t-  ^^^  cSnfessor^s  adv°cl 
P«rpf,?i  ^^  ?f  ^^^-  Confessors,  however,  are  to  be 
careful  not  to  dissuade  anyone    (ne    quemauam 

provided  that  he  is  m  the  state  of  grace  and  an^ 
proaches  with  a  right  intention.        ^  ^ 


132 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


1 

m 

.  ^  ■  jji  i 

^  1 

?  1 

"■'  r  ■*a  j 

9! 

' 

■i 

■ 

ill 

6.  But  since  it  is  plain  that,  by  the  frequent  or 
daily  reception  of  the  Holy  Eucharist,  union  with 
Chnst  is  fostered,  the  spiritual  life  more  abun- 
dantly sustained,  the  soul  richly  endowed  with 
virtues,  and  an  even  surer  pledge  of  everlasting 
happiness  bestowed  on  the  recipient,  therefore 
parish  priests,  confessors  and  preachers — in  ac- 
cordance with  the  approved  teaching  of  the  Ro- 
man Catechism  (Part  II,  cap.  4,  n.  &S) — are  fre- 
quently, and  with  great  zeal,  to  exhort  the  faith- 
ful to  this  devout  and  salutary  practice. 

• 

The  passage  in  the  Roman  Catechism,  to  which 
reference  is  made,  runs:  "It  will,  therefore,  be 
the  part  of  the  parish  priest  frequently  to  exhort 
the  faithful  that,  as  it  is  considered  needful  every 
day  to  feed  the  body,  so  also  they  should  not 
neglect  to  feed  and  nourish  the  soul  every  day 
with  this  Sacrament;  for  the  soul,  it  is  evident, 
stands  not  less  in  need  of  spiritual,  than  the  body 
of  corporal,  food." 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing,  all  parish 
priests,  confessors,-  and  preachers,  should  in  obe- 
dience to  this  "law  by  which  they  must  henceforth 
guide  themselves,"  encourage,  foster,  and  zealously 
spread  among  the  laity  the  practice  of  frequent 
and  daily  Communion.  Those  of  them,  therefore, 
who  join  the  Priests'  Communion  League,  are  not 
in  reality  contracting  any  new  obligation,  but 
merely  pledging  themselves  to  the  faithful  acquit- 
tance of  an  obligation  already  existing.  The 
Priests'  Communion  League,  in  fact,  is  an  asso- 
ciation established  seven  years  ago  at  Rome,  in 
the  Church  of  San  Claudio,  with  the  sole  object  of 


THE  PRIESTS'  COMMUNION  LEAGUE    133 


spreading  the  practice  of  frequent  and  daily  Com- 
munion in  conformity  with  the  decree  Sacra  Tri- 
dentina  Synodus.  some  provisions  of  which  have 
just  been  quoted.    All  priests  determined  to  labor 
for  the  accomplishment  of  this  object  are  eligible 
for  membership  in  the  League  and    so   far    as 
priests  of  the  Eucharistic  Leagiie  are  concerned 
they  may  become  members  of  this  new  associaUon 
by  simply  forwarding  their  name  for  enrollment  to 
the  Director  General.    The  means  proposed  to  its 
members  for  furthering  the  aims  and  attaining 
the  end  which  the  association  has  in  view  are- 
prayer,  speaking,  writing  for  the  press,  and  the 
distribution  of  Hterature  relating  to  the  subject. 
These  constitute  the  sole  duties  required  of  mem- 
bers, and,  presumably,  not  all  of  them  are  de- 
manded of  each. 

If  the  duties  of  membership  are  not  onerous. 
Its  privileges  are  notable.    Members  of  the  Priests' 
Communion  League  enjoy  the  right  of  a  privileged 
altar  three  times  a  week.     They  may  celebrate 
the  Holy  Sacrifice  an  hour  before  sunrise  and  an 
hour  after  midday.     They  may  distribute  Holy 
Communion  at  any  hour  of  the  day,  from  an  hour 
before  sunrise  until  sunset.     They  may  gain  a 
Plenary  Indulgence  on  all  the  first-class  feasts  of 
the  Mysteries  of  Faith,  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and 
of  the  Apostles.    They  may  gain,  likewise,  an  In- 
dulgence of  300   days  for   every   separate   work 
which  they  perform  for  the  advancement  of  the 
Leagues  purposes.    On  Uie  occasion  of  the  Tri- 
duum  recommended  to  be  held  in  their  parishes 


i 

i 


134 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


they  may  impart  to  the  people,  after  the  General 
Communion,  the  Papal  Benediction  with  the 
Plenary  Indulgence  attached  thereto.  Finally, 
they  may  grant  to  such  of  their  penitents  as  are 
in  the  habit  of  receiving  Holy  Communion  daily, 
or  almost  daily  (that  is,  etiamsi  abstineant  semel 
nut  iferum  in  hebdomada)  a  Plenary  Indulgence 
once  a  week,  which  Indulgence  may  be  granted 
at  one  time  for  several  weeks. 

It  is  superabundantly  evident  from  all  this 
that  our  beneficent  Holy  Father,  whose  energetic 
activity  thus  far  in  his  pontificate  has  shown  him 
consistently  living  up  to  his  motto,  "to  restore  all 
things  in  Christ,"  has  especially  at  heart  the  great- 
est possible  extension  of  the  salutary  practice  of 
daily  Communion.  For  it  may  be  well  to  note 
here,  with  Father  Zulueta,  S.  J.,  that  the  decree. 
Sacra  Tridentina  Synodus  uses  indifferently  the 
expressions,  "frequent,"  "frequent  and  daily,"  "fre- 
quent and  even  daily,"  showing  that  daily  Com- 
munion is  not  a  separate  species  of  Eucharistic 
practice,  governed  by  rules  different  from  those 
regulating  frequent  Communion. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  in  this  matter  "most 
eamesUy  desired  by  Christ  our  Lord  and  the 
Catholic  Church,"  every  priestly  heart  should 
throb  in  unison  with  that  of  Pius  X,  that  every 
priestly  mind  should  discard  the  more  or  less 
Jansenistic  or  near-Jansenistic  principles  hitherto 
acted  upon,  and  that  every  priestly  will  should 
be  an  energizing  force  habitually  exerted  in  entic- 
ing the  faithful  to  more  and  more  frequent  recep- 


THE  PRIESTS'  COMMUNION  LEAGUE     136 

tion  of  their  Eucharistic  God.  It  would  seem  in- 
deed eminently  fitting  that  the  Priests'  Communion 
League  should  speedily  count  on  its  roll  at  the 
vep  least  four  or  five  times  its  present  member- 

No  pastor  who  gives  to  the  matter  ever  so  little 
senous  reflection  can  fail  to  perceive  that  only  the 
happiest  possible  results  can  flow  from  his  efforts 
to  introduce  or  increase  the  practice  of  daily  Com- 
munion m  his  parish.  Even  now.  modified  fre- 
quentation  of  the  Sacrament  is  the  hall-mark  of 
the  good  practical  Catholic,  and  the  source  of  the 
true  priest  s  greatest  consolation.    What  blessings 

XIZ  *!^^^P.^i^t^d  ♦«  accompany  the  increased 
piety,  the  intensified  fervor,  that  will  surely  spring 

^^2  f     f^'./'-eq^entation-five  or  six  times  a 

tonersf        ^^'^^-^^  ^ven  a  handful  of  his  parish- 

Apart  from  the  benefit  to  his  flock,  what  a 
genuine  boon  will  not  his  zealous  advocacy  of 
daily  Communion  prove  to  the  pastor  himself! 
It  IS  a  truism  that  one  learns  most  effectively  by 
teaching;  and  the  priest  who  follows  the  advice 
or.  rather,  obeys  the  orders  of  the  Pope,  and  often 
exhorts  his  people  to  approach  the  Holy  Table 
with  increasing  frequency,  will  infallibly  develop 

l°i'\l°'^"  T\^  ^'^^^"^  appreciation  of  the  Mass 
and  the  Eucharist,  with  a  deeper  piety  in  his  cele- 
braUon  of  the  one  and  his  administering  of  the 
other.  ** 

If  it  will  not  be  considered  an  impertinence  in 
these  pages.  I  should  like  to  suggest  that  perhaps 


136 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


not  the  least  eloquent,  or  least  necessary,  exhorta- 
tion in  behalf  of  the  spread  of  daily  Communion 
will  find  its  scope  among  one's  brother  clerics.    In 
the  simplest  form  of  what  used  to  be  called  mind- 
reading,  but  what  is  in  reality  muscle-reading,  the 
"subject"  grasps  the  wrist  of  the  "reader"  and 
thinks  intently  of  some  material  object  to  which 
the  "reader"  is  supposed  to  lead  him.    The  subject 
is  cautioned  to  remain  perfectly  passive,  and  is 
quite  ready  to  affirm  on  oath  that  he  i$  so,  while 
at  the  same  time,  all  unconsciously  to  himself,  his 
hand  is   unmistakably  mov'ng  the  hand   of  the 
reader  in  the  direction  of  the  object  on  which  his 
mind  is  concentrated.     It  is  not  improbable,   I 
think,  that  not  a  few  excellent  priests— pious,  de- 
voted men,  who  would  deem  themselves  least  of 
all  likely  to  set  themselves  above  the  Pope— are 
nevertheless  unconsciously    swayed    by    the    in- 
herited or  acquired  old-time  Jansenistic  b     bear  of 
exaggerated  reverence  due  to  the  Blessea  Sacra- 
ment, a  reverence  which  they  find  it  difficult  to 
convince   themselves  will  not  be  endangered  in 
its  daily  reception  by  the  faithful.    At  heart  they 
really  doubt  the  prudence  of  the  practice. 

Without  emphasizing  the  obvious  by  urging 
that  in  this  matter  it  is  the  Pope's  business  to  be 
prudent  and  the  priest's  to  be  obedient,  one  may 
suggest  that  such  priests  need  to  be  told  time  and 
time  again,  in  season  and  out  of  season,  in  the 
Emmanuel,  the  Ecclesiastical  Review,  and  other 
Catholic  periodicals,  in  clerical  conferences,  and 
in  private  conversations,  that  Rome  has  authorita- 


THE  PRIESTS'  COMMUNION  LEAGCJK    13T 

Uvely  asserted  once  for  all  that  the  primary  pur- 
pose  of  the  Eucharist  is  not  the  safeguarding  of 
the  honor  and  reverence  due  to  our  Lord,  but 
the  conferring  upon  its  recipients  of  strength  to 
resist  sensual  passions,  to  cleanse  themselves  from 
the  stains  of  daily  faults,  and  to  avoid  the  graver 
sins  to  which  human  frailty  is  liable.    They  need 
remmding  that  Christ  Himself  forgot  Himself  in 
order  to  minister  to  our  needs.    "Qui  propter  nos 
homines  et  .>roptcr  nostram  salutem,"  says  the 
Creed.     "Sacramcnta   propter  homines,"  declare 
the    theologians.      And    the    Pope    emphatically 
reiterates  that  the  Eucharist  is  not  a  reward  of 
virtue,  but,  as  the  Council  of  Trent  declares,  it  is 
Dwinum  pharmacum,  "the  antidote  whereby  we 
are  delivered  from  daily  faults  and  preserved  from 
deadly  sins."    To  the  great  mass  of  the  faithful 
the   parish  priest  is  for  all  practical   purposes, 
bishop,  Roman  Congregation,  College  of  Cardinals, 
Pope— m  a  word,  the  Teaching  Church.  Now,  if  his 
teaching  is  to  be  thoroughly  orthodox,  the  burden 
of  his  exhortation  about  frequenting  the  Sacra- 
ments must  henceforth  be,  not  so  much  "My  dear 
people,  be  holy  in  order  that  you  may  become 
worthy  to  go  to  communion  frequently  and  even 
daily,"  as  "My  dear  people,  go  to  Communion  fre- 
quently, and  even  daily,  in  order  that  you  may 
become  holy."  *^ 

Other  priests  there  may  be— though  let  us  trust 
the  number  is  small— whose  lack  of  zeal,  tepidity, 
indifference,  fear  of  multiplied  confessions,  or 
what  not.  may  lead  them  to  treat  Pius  X.'s  decree 


138 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICB 


on  Daily  Communion  with  fulJy  as  much  construc- 
tive disrespect  as  has  been  shown  in  too  many  in- 
stances to  his  Motu  propria  on  Gregorian  Chant 
To  overcome  the  "vis  inertiae,"  or  the  active  op- 
position of  one  of  this  class,  will  require  all  the 
persevering  fervor  of  the  most  devoted  member 
of  the  Eucharistic  League  or  the  Priests*  Com- 
munion League.  It  is  conceivable,  even,  that  such 
a  member  may  be  treated  with  ridicule,  jeers,  and 
scoffing,  may  be  characterized  as  a  faddist,  a 
dreamer,  a  visionary,  an  unpractical  enthusiast. 
(Ah!  God  grant  there  may  be  more  of  such  en- 
thusiasts, that  their  tribe  may  increase!)  One 
can  readily,  however,  support  a  charge  so  radically 
untrue. 

Viewed  in   the  light  of  the  Sanctuary  lamp, 
weighed  in  the  balance  of  the  Tabernacle,  who  is. 
in  very  deed  and  truth,  the  unpractical,  visionary 
cleric?    It  is  assuredly  he  who  forgets  that  the  Eu- 
charist is  the  very  reason  of  his  priesthood,  and  that 
his  pre-eminent  duty  to  his  people  is  to  draw  them 
into  closer  and  closer  union  with  our  Lord  in  His 
Sacrament  of  love;  it  is  he  who  attempts  the  hope- 
less task  of  falsifying  the  words  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  proving  that  a  man  can  serve  two  masters, 
God  and  the  Mammon  of  wealth,  pleasure,  worldly 
reputation,  social  honor,  or  sensual  ease;  he  who 
exaggerates  the  rights  and  privileges  of  his  pas- 
toral office  and  minimizes  its  duties  and  obliga- 
tions; he  who  expends  his  most  strenuous  activities 
on  the  material,  financial  side  of  his  priestly  life, 
and  brings  to  his  spiritual  functions  a  lifeless  per- 


.il^W 


THE  PRIESTS'  COMMUNION  LEAGUE 


139 


functoriness  that  is  an  insult  to  the  God  he  has 
vowed  to  serve  with  love;  he  who  fancies  that 
spasmodic  effort  on  special  occasions  can  atone 
for  the  neglect  of  humdrum,  hidden,  even-day 
duties;  lie  who  imagines  that  intellectual  brlliancv 
can  supply  the  lack   of   a    humble   and   contrite 

nfon  ;    n  Y*»«  *?"«»•««  that  in  our  day.  not  less 
than  in  that  of  Thomas  Aquinas  or  Bernard,  more 
true  sacerdotal  science  is  to  be  absorbed  at  the 
foot  of  tht  crucifix  or  before  the  Tabernacle  than 
can   be   gleaned   from    books,    that    the     former 
method  has  transformed  a  quasi  minus  hahens 
clerical     candidate    into    a    faith-illumined    and 
samtly  Cure  d'Ars.  and  the  latter  has  deformed  a 
maxima  cum  laude"  seminary  graduate  into  a 
pnde-blinded  and  excommunicated  Abb^  Loisy 
he.  in  fine,  who  loses  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  only 
genuine  realities  are  the  eternal  ones,  that,  in  the 
last  analysis,  the  preponderating    rule    is,    as    a 
man—piiest  or  layman-lives,  and  lives  habitu- 
o%,  from  day  to  day,  so  shall  he  die;  that  true 
life  in  this  world  and  the  next  is  union  with  God 
and  that  in  no  other  character  than  as  an  eamesJ 
active,  devoted  member  of  the  Priests'  Communion 
League,  consistently    promoting    habitual    sacra- 
mental union  with  our  loving  Jesus  by  word  and 
work,  counsel  and  conduct,  preaching  and  prac- 
tice  can  he  so  confidently  re-echo  tiic  as«»nrance 
of  the  royal  psalmist:  "Credo  vJdere  bona  Domini 
in  terra  viventium"-«I  look  to  see  the  good  things 
of  the  Lord  m  the  land  of  the  living," 


^i)»Ec:i«>!^':r' 


XII 
A  PRIEST'S    MNEMONIC    FEAT 

•yms  paper  recounts  how  a  cleric  in  his  fiftieth 
A  year  committed  to  memory,  during  the  be- 
tween-whiies  of  ten  days,  the  complete  Office  of 
the  Dead.  The  true  record  of  a  bit  of  psycholog- 
ical experience,  its  frankly  personal  character  is 
due  to  the  writer's  conviction  that,  their  literary 
content  being  the  same,  an  autobiographical  nar- 
rative interests  the  average  reader  considerably 
more  than  does  an  impersonal  essay. 

The  ordinary  child    invariably    prefers    the 
"really  truly"  story  to  its  "made-up"  substitute; 
and,  in  this  respect  at  least,  there  is  justice  in 
Dryden's  dictum  that  "men  are  but  children  of  a 
large-  i  rowth."    Our  attention  is  far  more  readily 
enchained  by  the  concrete  and  determinate  than 
by  the  abstract  and  indefinite.     We  more  easily 
develop  interest  in  the  specific  than  in  the  general, 
and  are,  accordingly,  more  apt  to  be  affected, 
sympathetically  or  otherwise,  by  the  actual  expe- 
rience of  an  individual  man  with  "a  locah  habita- 
tion and  a  name"  than  by  the  possible  explo'  <?  of 
a  fictitious  character  who  is,  after  all,  only  "an 
aiiy  nothing."    The  pertinent  deduction  from  all 
this  generalizing  is  the  writer's  belief  that  it  is 
worth  his  while  to  incur  the  risk  of  being  consid- 
ered egotistical  and  vainglorious  for  the  sake  of 
securing  for  what  he  has  to  say  about  memory 

140 


A  PRIEST'S  MNEMONIC  FEAT 


141 


that  degree  of  interest  which  has  presumably  been 
awakened  by  the  statement  of  the  fact  recorded  In 
his  openmg  sentence. 

,-«hi«^*  **'^*  \^  considers  the  fact  a  notably  aston- 
^nlT'  V  'mnemonic  feat,  memorizing  the 
twenty-five  psalms  with  their  three  hundred  and 
odd  verses,  the  nine  lessons,  and  the  incidental 

Tk^u^X  ot^'"'  Tr "'  '^"^  p™  ^^^^^ 
^mn«rpi  fffu'"^  ^'f'^'^'t''^^^'  is  a  mere  trifle 
compared  with  hundreds  of  instances  recorded  in 

c     ^^\?^  °/  memory  and  its  marvels.    Profes- 

ber  of  such  instances:  "Men  found  no  difficultv 
in  remembering  the  twenty-four  books  of  HomeJ 

^Z-^  i""™^  .""^  ^'^^'y  ««'*^»^r  i°  his  army. 
Themistocles  could  caU  the  name  of  every  one  of 
the  twenty  thousand  citizens  of  Athens.^  Seneca 
could  repeat  two  thousand  proper  names  in  the 
order  m  which  they  had  been  told  him.  and  could 
recite  two  hundred  verses  read  to  him  for  L  firil 
time  by  as  many  different  persons.    .    .        Lo^d 

ffT.S;,^'''?'lf  **»«*  if  «»  the  extant' copTes 
of  The  Pilgrim's  Progress  and  Paradise  Lost  were 
de  U-oyed.  he  would  undertake  to  reproduce  them 
both  from  memory."' 

With  the  foregoing  instances  in  mind,  it  would 
be  manifestly  ludicrous  to  characterize  as  e^p^ 

Se  oSTr"?""^  *^  ''""""S  "y  heart  of 
tbe  O^cium  Defanctorum;  and,  accordingly,  one's 
?tafement  that  he  has  accomplished  the  fe'^,  can 

»Ute«ry  Style  wd  Other  Be«y,,  pp.  140  ff. 


142 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


hardly  be  considered  conclusive  evidence  that  he 
is  afflicted  with  megalomania  or  a  malignant  type 
of  the  "exaggerated  ego."  And  if  the  publication 
of  the  narrative  telling  how  the  task  was  accom- 
plished needs  justification,  it  will  be  found  in  the 
possibility  that  other  middle-aged  priests  may  de- 
rive from  the  story  a  hint  or  two  which  will  prove 
useful  to  themselves. 

It  may  be  well,  before  going  further,  to  state 
that  in  his  school-boy  and  college  days,  the  writer 
was  thought  to  have  an  exceptionally  good  mem- 
ory,— not  at  all  a  phenomenal  or  prodigious  one, 
but  one  as  <  quick  and  retentive  as  was  possessed 
by  the  best  of  his  classmates,  and  somewhat  better 
than  the  memory  of  the  average  student. 

It  was  in  his  early  twenties  that  he  first  made 
any  attempt  at  improving  his  native  faculty  by  the 
employment — at  least  the  conscious  employment — 
of  any  method  other  than  the  old-time  one  of 
constant  repetition.  At  that  period,  he  became 
interested  in  a  persistently  and  grandiloquently 
advertised  "School  of  Physiological  Memory;  or. 
The  Instantaneous  Art  of  Never  Forgetting."  In 
company  with  four  or  five  other  young  ecclesi- 
astical students,  he  invested  five  dollars  in  the 
purchase  of  the  series  of  pamphlets  containing 
the  lessons  of  the  "school,"  and,  for  a  few  months, 
worked  his  memory  as  he  had  never  done  before. 

The  pith  of  the  system  lay  in  the  application, 
to  problems  of  memory,  of  the  various  laws  of 
the  association  of  ideas,  laws  that  may  be  found 
nowadays  in  any  text-book  of  psychology,  and  in 


A  PRIEST'S  MNEMONIC  FEAT  143 

the  exploitation  of  the  flgure-alphabet.  This  latter 
mnemonic  device  we  looked  upon  at  the  t  me  as 
the  mvention  of  the  "Professor."  and  were  pkdged 
to  secrecy  both  as  to  it  and  to  the  laws  Tst 

mtr*H  *'•  **"*  *^^  «^P^«^^*  ^««  in  Sty'  a 
much  the  common  property  of  mankind  as  were 
the  laws,  and  it.  too.  may  be  found  in  the  7ext! 
books.  ,n  the  Psychology,  for  instance,  of  Prof es- 
sor  James,  of  Harvard.  froiea 

oi.?°i!  **'^ '^'^  ^''^'"'^i"^"   in    which   the   figure- 

oiS.^!!^  /^^rr^  "•'""'P^^"^"^  ^i^  ^««  the  mem- 
ommg  of  the  ratio  of  the  circumference  to  the 
diameter  of  tiie  circle,  the  ratio  being  carried  ou! 
to  seven  hundred  and  seven  places  of  ^^1" 

it  the\3e':7  '•'  *'^  ^'"'  a-Whshedtl'atk 

nte^est?n?h.      T  °''  '''^'°  ^^^'''  «°^'  ^^ile  his 

Lt^lT/pH  V      '^**^"'  T'  ^*  ^^^^'^  heat,  the  writer 

utihzed    the    same    alphabet   in    committing    to 

"atro?  theV'^'^'  "^*  °'  *^^  P^-^-  ^  the 
aates  oi  tneir  accession. 

For  well-nigh  three  decades  after  the  foreaoino 
experience  I  took  no  special  pains  to  cuWvate 
my  natural  memory,  and  did  nothing  toward 
developing  a  quasi-artiflcial  one.  It  shouM  be 
said,  however,  that  throughout  this  period  I  never 

posmons,  whether  sermons,  lectures,  magazine 
articles  or  verses.  As  a  rule,  indeed,  when  such 
comp<«iUons  were  put  together  with  c«e  a^d 
cnhcaUy  revised,  no  study  whatever  was  nec^ 
«:>:  they  were  known  by  heart  as  soon  as  fll 


144 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


To  come  at  length  to  the  Office  of  the  Dead: 
the  idea  of  committing  it  to  memory  arose  in  this 
way.  The  writer  habitually  spends  an  aggregate 
of  three  hours  a  day  in  taking  what  the  New  York 
Sun  declares  to  be  "tlie  best  of  all  exercises,  the 
simple  and  old-fashioned  one  of  walking  briskly 
with  head  up  and  arms  swinging."  It  is  laid  down 
in  the  books  that,  if  full  benefit  is  to  be  derived 
from  such  exercise,  the  walk  should  not  be  made 
the  occasion  for  doing  intellectual  work,  or  labor- 
ing at  mental  problems.  At  the  same  time,  the 
mind  must  occupy  itself  with  something,  and  per- 
haps its  least  fatiguing  operation  is  the  reproduc- 
tion, voluntary  or  involuntary,  of  matter  that  one 
knows  by  heart.  Acting  on  this  Drinciple,  the 
writer  made  it  his  practice  to  recite,  while 
pedestrianizing,  such  selections  in  prose  or  poetry 
as  cost  him  no  effort  to  recall.  Now,  a  few  years 
ago,  while  looking  through  some  old  papers  in 
search  of  a  particular  manuscript,  he  came  across 
a  writing-book  containing  a  list  of  the  specific 
memory  feats  accomplished  during  the  months 
when  his  favorite  hobby  was  the  "School"  of 
physiological  memory  already  mentioned. 

The  train  of  thought  awakened  by  this  me- 
morial of  other  days  led  to  several  conclusions, 
one  of  them  being  that  it  might  be  feasible,  by 
employing  a  modification  of  the  method  used 
years  ago,  to  learn  by  heart  something  more  use- 
ful than  the  hundreds  of  figures  in  the  ratio  of 
the  circumference  to  the  diameter,  or  the  hun- 
dreds of  combined  proper  names  and  dates  em- 


ji^J^iT^SjlNEMONlC  PEAT 


145 

attempt  the  task  w«?h     k*.        *^°^'  decision  to 

extent^Iso  by  anXr  n    r  ""^  T*""*^^  *°  ^^'"^ 
cover  whether  thr-*   ^  "i*'^^'  ^^^  ^^^'^-^  to  dis- 

as  excellent  for  the  minw  '^^*J"^°*  oaths)  is 
some  years  hfs  proved Tt  to'h/°  'l^'''^^^^  of 
the  body.  Not  tL  least  reltae'conlrr*  l""' 
success  in  the  proposed  task  «  «  L  ??°°*  ^°'' 
tion  to  succeed  washv  n!.  *  "*°«  determina- 
it  {«  «    '."^^-^^ea,  was  by  no  means  wantinc     Ami 

of  S>TZ  or  fltr  "'^^'"••''''S'y-  «"  the  intervals 

be  ^pi"^-z:'':zx^:zt:  t:;^^' 


146 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


necUon  and  sequence  in  its  parts;  and,  finally,  to 
link  verse  to  verse  and  sentence  to  sentence  by 
a  supplementary  word  or  words  expressing  an 
idea  associated  with  both  the  end  of  one  verse  or 
sentence  and  the  beginning  of  the  next  one.  As 
a  concrete  demonstration  of  this  method  will  be 
given  at  the  close  of  this  paper,  further  explana- 
tion, in  detail,  of  the  linking  process  need  not  be 
given  now;  but  it  may  be  useful  to  cite  here  the 
general  laws  of  the  association  of  ideas.  To  select 
the  rendering  of  them  given  by  Father  Maher, 
d.  J.  t        J 

The  Law  of  Association  by  Similarity  expresses 
the  general  condition  that  the  mind  in  the  presence 
of  any  mental  state  tends  to  reproduce  the  like 
of  that  state  in  past  experience.  .  .  .  The  Law 
of  Contrast  enunciates  the  general  fact  that  the 
mind  in  the  presence  of  any  mental  state  tends 
to  reproduce  contrasted  states  previously  expe- 
rienced. .  .  .  The  Law  of  Contiguity  formu- 
lates the  truth  that  the  mind  in  the  presence  of 
an  object  or  event,  whether  actual  or  ideal,  tends 
to  recall  other  objects  and  events  formerly  closely 
connected  in  space  or  time  with  that  now  present. 

One  detail  of  the  writer's  method  may  prove 
inleresting  even  to  clerics  who  have  no  intention 
of  memorizing  any  portion  of  their  Breviary — 
his  use  of  the  English  version  of  the  Bible  as  an 
aid  to  remembering  the  Latin  of  the  Ofjftcium 
Defunctorum.  Professor  James  remarks  that  "a 
curious  peculiarity  of  our  memory  is  that  things 
are  impressed  better  by  active  than  by  passive 
repetition.    I  mean  that  in  learning  by  heart  (for 


A  PRIEST'S  MNEMONIC  PEAT  147 


example),  when  we  almost  know  the  piece,  it  pays 
be  ter  to  wait  and  recollect  by  an  effort  from 
withm  han  to  look  at  the  book  again."  I  found 
It  useful  when  at  fault,  or.  as  the  old-time  col- 
oquiahsm  has  it.  when  "stuck."  to  turn  to  the  Eng- 
lish  version  of  the  Psalms,  (or  to  the  Book  of 
Job,  in  the  case  of  the  Lessons),  and  recall  the 
fl  ?"*K  /^u*V*'  *''«"«»«tion-    Young  priests  will 

fnfllcf  r^K     T'^"^  "^"^  *«^^  *»"  «"  addiUonal 

nterest  If  they  thus  compare  the  two  versions  of 

the  Psalms  found  in  the  Common  of  the  Saints. 

Perhaps  as  effective  a  way  as  can  be  chosen  to 

Illustrate  the  whole  process  by  which  the  writer 

accomphshed  his  mnemonic  feat  will  be  to  apply 

that  process  to  the  Canticle  of  the  three  Hebrew 

DomJnn'  't\^r'^^^^*''    omnia    opera   Domini, 

2v^«  %*      \*/''""'  P^'"*  ""^  ^^^  P'-^y^"  o'  thanks- 
giving after  Mass.  the  great  majority  of  priests 

can  very  probably  recite  any  one  of  its  verses 

v^  hen  once  they  are  started   on    that    particular 

verse     Owing,  however,  to  the  similarity,  not  to 

say  the  identity,  of  many  of  the  verse-beginnings 

and    verse-endings,    a    considerable    number    of 

pnests  find  it  difficult  or  impracticable  to  recite 

the  whole  canticle  by  heart.     The  facilities  for 

H?!  !"J  r^"^^  "P"  ^'■^  °^^^°"«'  y^t  «  half-hour 
devoted  to  a  systematic  study  of  the  Canticle  will 
probably  suffice  to  impress  it  on  even  the  poores 
memory-provided  the  main  difficulty  be  in  learn- 
ing the  proper  order  of  the  verses.    Let  us  see. 

ine  LanUcle  consists  of  twenty  verses,  each 
being  an  apostrophe  calling  on  some  one  or  some 


148 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


thing  to  bless  the  Lord.  In  six  of  the  verses,  the 
first,  tenth,  fifteenth,  eighteenth,  nineteenth  and 
twentieth,  there  is  the  additional  entreaty  or  com- 
mand to  ''praise  and  exalt  Him  above  all  for  ever." 
Roughly  speaking,  the  first  nine  verses  relate  to 
heaven  or  the  heavens— the  angels,  the  elements, 
the  seasons,  etc.;  the  next  five  verses  have  to  do 
with  the  earth,  its  physical  features  and  the  animal 
creation;  and  the  last  six  verses  deal  with  man, 
generaUy  and  specifically  considered.  For  mem- 
orizing purposes,  it  is  well  to  note  that  each  of 
these  divisions  begins  with  a  verse  containing  the 
admonition  to  "praise  and  exalt  Him  above  all  for 
ever";  and  that,  in  the  beginning  of  the  second  and 
of  the  third  division,  the  grammatical  form  is  the 
third  person  singular  instead  of  the  second  person 
plural,  laudet  et  superexaltet,  not  laudate  et  super- 
exaltate,  as  in  verses  one  and  eighteen.  The 
change  in  verse  nineteen,  from  the  second  to  the 
first  person  plural,  is  another  circumstance,  notice 
of  which  will  facilitate  ojie's  remembering  it;  and 
the  change  in  verse  twentieth,  from  the  imperative 
to  the  indicative  mood,  ivill  help  to  fix  that  con- 
cluding verse  firmly  in  Ine  mind. 

Now,  to  apply  the  laws  of  the  association  of 
ideas  to  the  binding  or  linking  of  the  verses  one 
to  another  in  the  due  order  of  their  succession. 
A  necessary  preliminary  observation  is  that  one's 
own  connecting  words  or  ideas  are  far  better  than 
those  suggested  by  other  persons,  the  writer  or  any 
one  else,  for  the  simple  reason  that  while  a  given 
word  may  have  the  same  meaning,  or  denotation. 


A  PBIBST'S  ilNEMONIC  PEAT  149 


for  the  reader  and  me.  its  connotaUon.  or  the 
ideas  closely  associated  with  it  in  our  respective 
mmds.  may  vary  widely.    "Home."  "college  life" 
Uie  seminary."  and  "the  bishop."  for  instance, 
plainly  suggest  different  ideas   to    the    various 
readers  of  this  paper.    It  follows  Uiat  the  linking 
words  given  herewith  may  be  artificial,  rather 
than  natural,  associations  for  the  reader;  yet,  even 
so,  they  will,  it  is  thought,  serve  the  purpose.    Pro- 
fessor Ladd.  of  Yale,  says:  "These  'laws'  (of  asso- 
ciation) are  the  'natural'  modes  of  the  recurrence 
of  the  Ideas  under  the  principles  of  contiguity, 
similarity,  conti-ast,  etc.    Mnemonics,  or  'artificial' 
memory  then,  furnishes  safe  maxims  only  so  far 
as  It  follows  these  laws,  that  is.  ceases  to  be  arti- 
flcial  and  becomes  natural.    But  relatively  non- 
rational  or  accidental  associations  are  natural  in 
the  earlier  stages  of  the  development  of  memory; 
and.  indeed,  for  such  subjects,  in  all  stages,  as 
do  not  lend  tiiemselves  readily  to  tiie  higher  forms 
of  association.'  ^ 

This  much  being  premised,  a  prominent  word 
m  the  last  clause  of  verse  one  is  superexaltate. 
rhere  is  nothing  particularly  artificial  or  strained 
in  the  association  of  "superexalted"  with  "highest," 
or,  in  view  of  the  content  of  verse  one,  of  "highest" 
with  "highest  of  God's  creations,"  by  which  phrase 
angels  is  ahnost  spontaneously  suggested;  and 
so  verse  two  is  tinked  to  verse  one.    Coeli,  toward 

V^^.  t"  .       ''^"^.  *^**'  '"^y  ^"  «  Scriptural  and 
Old  Testament  piece  readily  enough  suggest  "the 

^Pychologv.  DeacripUve  and  Explanatory,  p.  406. 


150 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


windows  of  heaven,"  their  being  opened  at  the 
time  of  the  deluge,  and  hence  "waters,"  the  aquae 
which  starts  one  on  verse  three.  Virtutes,  in  final 
clause  of  verse  three,  may  unforcedly  suggest 
"strength,"  "strong  power  in  nature,"  "the  sun," 
tol,  the  starting  word  of  verse  four.  In  this  verse 
the  last  two  words  are  identical  with  the  last  two 
of  verse  two,  identical  in  sound  though  not  in 
sense;  so  that  the  associaion  must  be  between 
stellae  coeli  and  the  imber  of  verse  five.  Perhaps 
this  series  may  serve  to  connect  them:  stars  of 
heaven,  "falling  stars,"  "falling  rain."  These  in- 
stances will  probably  be  sufficient  to  explain  the 
plan  of  linking,  without  doing  any  more  for  the 
rest  of  the  verses  than  merely  indicating  the  link- 
ing words.  Thus  connected,  the  verses  would  be 
memorized  in  this  fashion : 

Benedicite,    omnia    opera    Domini,    Domino: 
laudate  et  superexaltate  eum  in  saecula    . 
superexalted,  highest  of  God's  creations,  angels. 

Benedicite,  Angeli  Domini,  Domino:  benedicite. 
coeh,  Dommo  .  .  .  heaven,  "windows  of 
heaven,"  deluge,  waters.  ' 

Benedicite,  aquae  omnes  quae  super  coelos 
sunt.  Domino:  benedicite,  omnes  virtutes  Domini, 
Domino  .  .  .  virtue,  strength,  strong  power  in 
nature,  sun.  ^  ^ 

Benedicite  sol  et  luna.  Domino:  benedicite, 
stellae  coeh.  Domino  .  .  .  stars,  falling  stars, 
falling  rain,  rain. 

Benedicite,  cmnis  imber  et  ros.  Domino:  bene- 
dicite, omnes  spiritus  Dei  Domino  .  .  .  Holu 
Spirit,  "tongues  of  fire."  " 

Benedicite,  ignis  et  aestus,  Domino:  benedicite. 


A  PRIEST'S  MNEMONIC  PEAT  m 


excetaiue  heat. 


frigus  et  aestus,  Domino    .    . 
refreshing  dew,  dews. 

a^t^^'Il^?'^'^'''  ''.?*'^*.''*  P"*"^"®'  Domino:  benedicitc. 

*  Ln/jJSV"'^?'"""    •    •    •    great  cold.  ice. 
Benedicite,  glacies  et    nives,    Domino:    bene- 

diate.  noctes  et  die,.  Domino  '.    .    .    daybrlal 

Hinw^"r**i'"*^'  ^V*  ?*  tenebrae.  Domino:  bene- 
dicite, fnlgura  et  nubes.  Domino  .  .  .  position 
of  clouds,  above  the  earth.  p^'^uun 

Benedicat  terra  Dominum:   laudet  et  super- 
"rt  moTn/2r ^^"*"    '    '    '    '^''^'^  ''-"  ^f 

^.owf"^'*-*''*^'  '"**"*''^  ^*  *=°"e»'  Domino:  bene- 
dicite  universa  germmantia    in    terra.    Domino 

•  •„  •    germinating,  springing,  fountains. 

Pt  fl„.!!f„l"i?-  ^*^"*'^*'  I^^'nino:  benedicite.  maria 
SJfta/LT  *°°    •    •    •    '''''^ ''"d  rivers,  fish, 

o«.?^"??^*^**^'  *^l*^  ®*  **"^"^a  *I"ae  moventur  in 
aquis.  Domino:  benediate.  omnes  volucres  coeli. 

aZTs.  beasts.    '"^''  ^^'"^    «"'"«"'    ^^'^^^ 
Benedicite,  omnes  bestiae  et  pecora.  Domino- 
benedicite,  filiihominum.  Domino*^  .    .        Znso'f 
meih  sons  of  God,  chosen  people,  Israel. 

Benedicat  Israel  Dominum:   laudet   et   super- 

Tri^sfs.  '""'   '"  '""""^^    •     •     •    ^'^''"'  «/  '"««. 

Benedicite,  sacerdotes  Domini,  Domino:  bene- 
dicite, servi  Domini.  Domino  .  .  .  servant, 
slave,  poor-spirited,  spirits. 

Benedicite,  spiritus  et  animae  justorum. 
Domno:     benedicite     sancti    et   humills   cord™ 

arn.  the  pari Alh'^T'  '''''''''  ^^^^^"^ 
Benedicite,  Anania,   Azaria,  Misael,  Domino: 


m 


i6i 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


laudate  et  superexaltate  eum  in  »ue^  ia 
foreuer,  changelett,  change  in  grammaiical  form. 
Benedicanuw  Patrem  et  FiTiiim  cum  Sancto 
Spiritu:  laudemus  ct  supcrexaltemua  eum  in 
■aecula  .  .  iaecula  taeculorum,  the  end  in- 
dicated, indicative  mood. 

I  ?®u»^^*^*H*  e»J>o»«ino  in  flrmamento  coeli:  et 
laudabihs,  et  gloriosus.  et  superexaltatiu  in  sae- 
cuia. 

It  has  already  been  said  that  while  the  reader's 
own  linking  words  are  the  best  for  him,  still  the 
foregoing  Aeries  of  correlaUons  will  probably  serve 
his  purpose  in    memorizing   the    Canticle.     The 
statement  was  made  in  accordance  with  a  psy- 
chological law  which  any  one  may  test  for  himself, 
and  which  Coleridge  thus  formulates:  'The  true 
practical  general  law  of  association  is  this:  that 
whatever  makes  certain  parts  of  a  total  impression 
more  vivid  or  disUnct  than  the  rest  will  deter- 
mine the  mind  to  recall  these  in  preference  to 
others  equally  linked  toR-ther  hy    the    common 
condition  of  contemporaneity   or   of  contiguity. 
But  the  will  itself,  by  con/lniuy  and  intensifying 
the  attention,  may  arbitrarily  give  vividness  or 
distinctness  to  any  object  whatsoever."     Accord- 
ingly, although  the  foregoing  linking  words  are 
mme,  and  not  the  reader's,  the  latter  can  make 
them  his  own  by  the  simple  process  of  repeating 
them,  say  a  dozen  or  score  of  times. 

As  to  repetition,  Professor  Ladd  gives  Uiis  good 
advice:  "Repeat  with  fixed  attention  until  the 
object  is  'fastened'  in  the  memory;  or,  if  tiiis  can- 


A  PRIEST'S  MNEMONIC  FEAT 


153 


not  be   done   without  excessive   expenditure   of 

the  first  attempt  at  memoriiing.  For  forgettina  is 
rapid  at  flr.t  and  slower  afterwards."  The  r  pet^! 
tion  for  ,ns tance.  of  the  foregoing  verses  with 
their  connecting  words  or  phrase,  twenty-flve 
times  at  one  sitUng  will  probably  impress  them 

Hon.  J^r*"?  *'""""  **^«"  ^»  »  hundred  repeti- 
Uons  scattered  over  five  or  six  days. 

aiZil  ZT""'  however,  is  becoming  inimoder- 

his  «lr    ?  I'  ""^'^^^^  "'  "'  P'-°^««'^^  purpose 
has  already  been  effected.    The  Office  of  the  Dead 

"^"♦1  fu  ™^^  ^^  ^^^  P''^*^^''  indicated  in  dealing 
with  the  Canticle  of  the  three  children.  That  it 
was  memorized  at  all  by  one  who  had  celebrated 
his  Sliver  Jubilee  as  a  priest  is  perhaps  a  fact  to 
be  set  against  the  Oslerian  theory  of  man's  in- 
cipient decay  at  the  age  of  forty.  That  it  was 
memorized  m  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  hours  by 
one  who,  unlike  the  middle-aged  actor  or  lawyer, 

Tlf  ^ff^^^^  °^  ^^"«^  *»«•  Sr^^te'-  feats,  had 
neglected  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  to  keep  his 
memory  m  training,  is  due  chiefly,  in  all  prob- 
abihty,  to  two  conditions:  the  writer's  perfect 
phy«cal  health  and  his  fairiy  strong  power  of  will. 

«  L.  Z?  ^''''^  **^  *h^  selections  in  prose  and 
poetry  which  it  used  to  be  the  custom  to  learn  by 
heart,  Ruskm  said:  "They  may  become  fairy 
palaces  of  beautiful  thoughts,  bright  fancies,  sat- 

Sp^i!^!"'"""'  T^^^  *^^^*°"^«'  f«^*»^f"l  savings, 
treasure-houses  of  precious  and  restful  thoughts 


154 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


which  care  cannot  disturb,  nor  pain  make^gloomy, 
nor  poverty  take  away  from  us,— houses  built 
without  hands,  for  our  souls  to  dwell  in."  Where 
can  more  congruous  material  for  such  houses, 
built  for  priestly  souls  to  dwell  in,  be  found  than 
in  the  liturgical  prayers  of  the  Divine  Office! 


xin 

CLERICAL  HEALTH  AND  EXERCISE 

inundates  the  neighSSdri^d  cr^fa^/U^^^^^^^^  'V°«  «^«'.»°d 
—Emerson.  creejts  of  other  men's  necessities. 

the  dog8.--»F.  Hall.  ^^  *°^  P^y">«  *o 

QIXTEEN    or  seventeen  years  ago,  when   the 
r     ,P^^°*  Sovereign  PonUflf  was  known  only  as 

nn^"??    K^'*'^:/^*^^'"^  °^  V^°^^^'  h«  ™«de  it  a 
point  to  be  assiduous  in  visiting  his  Semmary.    It 

was  his  custom  to  drop  in  unexpectedly  so  as  to 

«^!fr  T.?°*^  ^^  ^""^P"°^  «f  *he  house,  but 
also  the  studies,  and  even  the  food  and  the  g^es. 

iSo?  ;;"P°^*  Z^'^*  l>y  Wm  to  Rome  in  DecLber. 

^fff^n^^-  T^^'  °[  '"y  y°""«  ™^°'  *>oth  in 
piety  and  in  learning,  but  I  do  not  attach  less  im- 

portance  to  their  health,  on  which  depends  in  a 

^eat  measure  the  exercise  of  their  ministry  later 

eauallv?*?'?;^^'^^""^"^'  Eminence  of  Mechlin. 
equaUy  sohcitous  for  the  symmetrical  formation 
of  his  youttif ul  aspirants  to  the  priesthood,  has 
more  recentiy  told  them:  'The  physical  life  of  our 

155 


156 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


organs  and,  as  a  consequence,  the  activity  of  our 
moral  being  are  subject  to  the  law  of  repose,  and 
the  health  of  the  whole  organism  to  the  equili- 
brium of  the  functions  of  the  different  organs 
which  constitute  it.  .  .  .  Throw  yourselves 
heart  and  soul  into  the  recreations  and  outdoor 
exercises  which  your  Seminary  provides  and  or- 
ganizes for  your  benefit.  In  Uiese  your  souls  are 
safe,  and  they  will  be  the  means  of  helping  in- 
stead of  hindering  tiie  higher  efforts  of  your  in- 
terior life." 

Excellent  advice,  this;  but  is  it  really  as  much 
needed  by  youthful  seminarists  as  by  priests  who 
have  been  ordained  for  fifteen,  or  twenty,  or 
twenty-five  years?  The  average  young  man,  in 
and  out  of  the  Seminary,  is  not  given  to  physical 
mactivity.  He  may  not  expend  much  thought  on 
the  hygienic  necessity  of  safeguarding  his  healtii 
by  taking  adequate  exercise— but  he  takes  it.  The 
midde-aged  priest,  on  tiie  other  hand,  while  he 
readily  accepts,  and  may  even  eloquentiy  advocate, 
the  theory  tiiat  physical  exercise  is  essential  to 
health,  all  too  commonly  fails  in  practice  to  show 
that  he  has  the  courage  of  his  convictions.  Pius 
X.'s  young  clerics  of  1897  probably  need  now,  as 
Cardinal  Mercier's  probably  will  need  fifteen  or 
twenty  years  hence,  far  more  serious  admonitions 
concerning  healtii  and  exercise  tiian  tiiey  received 
in  the  formative  period  of  tiieir  ecclesiastical 
career.  And  tfie  pity  of  it  is  tiiat  ordinary  treatises 
on  tfie  priesthood,  in  which  suc^  admonitions 
might  congruously  find  a  place,  pi   ctically  ignore 


CLERICAL  HEALTH   . I ND  E2EBCI.4E    157 

the  subject.  You  will,  for  instance.  looL  :a  vain 
^ugh  Manning's  Eternal  Priesthood,  MoJer's 
two  volumes  on  The  Catholic  Priesthood  ^  Keat- 

o?Te  ^rt't  "^  ^I^  k"^^*  «**^^"*^  -  -edition 
F«thl/^  T  .'^^''^'  «*^cording  to  nar  Holy 
Fatoer.  depends  in  a  great  measure  the  exercise 
of  the  pnesUy  ministry.  exercise 

feJ^h^lui  ''•''"?u^*  ^  '"^'^  ^"^'"^  *«  ««y  *hat  per- 
fect healUi,  m  th-.  natural  order.  like  sancUf^ng 

Wes  uttennost  blessing.  Bodily  well-beinaor 
physical  soundness,  is  moreover  a  requisite  condT 
F^.°i?:'"/.*  '"^'*^°°  «^  '''-''  other  blessing. 
ruZ^,^*'°'5°°u  ''^""^^'^y  attainments,  a  cS^ 
tured  taste  and  the  means  to  gratify  it.  access  to 
fte  treasures  of  literature  and%rt.  fte\Teasures 
of  domestic  and  foreign  travel,  congenial  wo4 

love  Ts^^r^**  *^  S"^^'^^P  °^  --y  -"^e 
love  of  som^none  of  these  can  be  thoroughlv 
enjoyed  by  the  chronic,  the  intermittent,  or  fven 

of Tn^r  '  °  ?"^"'^  ^'^^^  P«^^-  A  consideration 
of  more  senous  impr. -t  to  the  priest  is  thus  phraseS 
by  that  sturdy  old  moralist.  Dr.  Johason:  "Health 

of  WrZtTe  '"  •'"  *^.  ^"^'^'^  '^^  ^  ^"  -  P^^-^es 
tte  follv  "  ?!  ™'/  squandering  it  is  equal  to 
wWch  h^;  i,  •  ^°  '°**^«Pen^abIe  means  to  an  end 
e  ftp  5?  «'°  consc  ence  bound  to  accompUsh.  i. 
e.  the  effective  exercise  of  big  ministry,  health  and 

Tj'^^u^r  *"^*^  o°  *he  aspect  of  a  p^iSve 
debt  which  the  parish  priest  owes  not  merely  to 


158 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


himself  but  to  his  people.  It  needs  no  elaborate 
argument  to  demonstrate  that,  as  between  the  per- 
fectly healthy  and  the  frequently  ailing  pastor, 
the  former  is  likely  to  preach  the  better  sermons, 
to  be  more  punctual  at  the  morning  SacrijQce,  to 
attend  more  regularly  at  the  confessional  (and 
be  more  patient  when  seated  therein),  to  be  more 
available  for  sick-calls,  and  to  display  more  zeal 
and  fervor  and  energy  and  perseverance  in  the 
hundred  and  one  activities,  spiritual  and  temporal, 
that  demand  his  attention. 

Insistence  on  this  point  is  obviously  not  equiva- 
lent to  undervaluing  the  discipline  of  pain,  or  to 
denying  that  sickness   may   be,    and   frequently 
is,  a  means  of  sanctification.    Ill-health  directly 
willed  by  God,  or  contracted  through  holy  impru- 
dence in  the  zealous  discharge  of  duty,  is  doubt- 
less a  blessing,  though  in  disguise;  but  it  is  worth 
while  remarking  that  in  perhaps  the  overwhelm- 
ing majority  of  cases  illness  is  an  evil  which  God 
permits  rather  than  positively  wills.     Some  one 
has  defined  dyspepsia  to  be  "the  remorse  of  a 
guilty  stomach";  and  many  a  cleric's  attack  of  in- 
digestion is  as  deliberately  voluntary  and  as  little 
"in  conformity  with  the  holy  will  of  God,"  as  is 
the  intoxication   of  the  drunkard.     Nay,  more; 
many  a  confirmed  toper  who  is  admonished  by 
his  pastor  that  he  is  surely  "drinking  himself  to 
death"  might  truthfully  retort  that  the  pastor  in 
question  is  just  as  srrely  eating  himself  to  death. 
This  does  not  of  course  mean  that  any  appreciable 
number  of  pastors  are  habitually,  or  even  occa- 


CLEBICAL  HEALTH  AND  F.XV.^r,^^^^ 

?onv'h^:,?l'!i'^  "^  •'*"^""'  ""d  '""'"ou,  glut- 
tony, but  It  does  mean  that  the  middle-aueH  nlw 

UuI'r^T  '"  'r  '""''y'"*  "n  eteSfnt  ^ppt 

r^.iKrrHet.''~'^^^^^^^ 

Ai»^      r:      ^^  ^^^  Henry  Thompson  puts  it  Hp  i« 
dig^ng  his  grave  with  his  teeth.  ^        * 

11  taking  three  full  meals  a  day,  formed  in  vn„»i! 
ter  as  simple  as  it  was  unconscious,  clings  to  us 

;frndTc2j;ri,,-ir„Srt^ 

ftldy  t  Sled  JS^  r^lf".  *'"'  ^'™«"'»-  "" 
o««      ^  °  ^*"  ®  greater  ouantitv  of  nni 

sonous  matter  than  the  organs  of  dimtaatiol  can" 
And.  by  mipairing  the  Wood  and  lowS!^  ij^e 


160 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


vitality,  this  same  condition  prepares  the  system 
for  infection — ^for  colds,  or  pneumonia,  or  tuber- 
culosis, or  any  of  the  fevers. 

The  necessity  of  exercise  being  admitted,  the 
question  narrows  down  to  the  form  thereof  most 
conducive  to  the  preservation  of  health,  most  con- 
gruous to  the  dignity  of  the  sacerdotal  character, 
and  at  the  same  time  most  available  to  the  great 
mass  of  priests.  At  the  outset,  it  may  be  asserted 
on  the  authority  of  all  writers  on  physical  culture, 
that  any  form  of  exercise  in  the  open  air  is  im- 
measurably better  than  such  calisthenic  or  gym- 
nastic practices  as  are  performed  within  doors. 
In  this  twentieth  century  as  never  before,  perhaps, 
mankind  is  coming  to  realize  the  beneficial  eflfects 
of  fresh  air  and  sunshine,  or,  in  the  absence  of 
sunshine,  of  rain,  hail,  snow,  fog,  or  other  atmos- 
pheric condition.  Thus,  sitting  on  an  open  ve- 
randa is  better  than  lounging  in  even  a  well-aired 
study;  and  riding  behind  a  "faithful  Dobbin,"  or 
on  a  seat  in  an  open  trolley-car,  or  in  a  swiftly 
moving  automobile,  is  better  than  indoor  deep- 
breathing,  swinging  the  Indian  clubs,  or  practis- 
ing on  the  athletic  rings  and  bars. 

To  mention  some  specific  methods  of  muscu- 
lar exertion :  the  old-fashioned  occupation  of  saw- 
ing wood  is  advocated  by  many,  physicians  as  well 
as  laymen,  as  the  best  of  all  exercises;  but,  apart 
from  its  strenuousness,  the  conditions  of  modem 
life,  particularly  in  cities,  practically  remove  it 
from  the  list  of  physical  activities  to  which  a 
priest  may  well  devote  an  hour  or  two  of  his  day. 


CLERICAL  HEALTH  AND  BXEKCI8E 


161 


Merase— for  the   horse";   while   another  aua>i 
authonty  on  physical  culture  declare,  that'"X 

al^o-""  '^'  *'  '""'^^  "'  »  ""■•  *»  *«  ouWde  o? 
S„  „^.  £'  *"'"  '"''J°"'y  »'  «='eri«».  however 

toe  IW,^'" ,  K?'^  ""''  *'  ""  •"  animals/rom 
the  hvery  .tables  would  encroach  too  much  on 

«ncet"  hf  T"'^  •»  P^™«  of  habiturindul" 
f^  e,l„.f  P'r """'  'PO-*  Bicycle-riding  is 
Ih^.  f^P™";*-  •"»  «n  additional  advantaae  in 

lumself.  and,  on  good  roads  in  pleasant  weather 
..certainly  exhilarating;  but,  waiving  aU  question 
of  It.  congrmty  to  the  priesUy  character,  «cltog 
^ke  swimming,  rowing,  golf,  temiis,  an^S 
other  form,  of  outdoor  physical  exerton  carbe 
taken  advantage  of  oaly  during  certain  .eason^ 
and  exerci,e  i,  needed  in  all  seLn"  ^ 

.V  J  T-  u  ?°^  ^'"™  °f  ""wcular  activity,  how- 
ev„,  which  i.  open  to  none  of  the  foregSng  „I 
jections  and  entail,  none  of  Uie  dl,a&««. 
menboned.    It  is  Uie  oldest  of  aU  forms- vet  no? 

r-S^v"^? /  *?  7^'  P"*-'.  "™™  r  maTn'; 
fi     »L        ?P'*"-  ''"'  "pensive,  most  health- 

°i      And^^    *  ""  P'''^""'  nature-walk- 

wSkint^l  ,Z^^°V^"*?""''  ■•««"'"•  daily 
waiKing— 1.  the  ideal  exereise  for  Uie  Driest     In 

*^*"«  P'o-^e.  i' fa  entirely  compalSle'^^,^  a^ 
*^ly  of  even  Uie  most  exalted  cleric.    "When  ? 

walked.  "yt^-H',""'  '''""  "'"^  ""■  «ee„Uy!°. 
walked.    I  wish  I  were  younger  so  Uiat  I  might 


162 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


1  ljsBB 

It 

i 

m 

^^^HBPr 

walk  more  than  I  do  now.  When  people  walked 
more  than  they  do  now,  they  were  stronger  and 
healthier."  *'I  am  willing,**  wrote  Cardinal  Gib- 
bons a  few  years  ago  to  the  present  writer,  **to 
endorse  all  that  is  said  in  praise  of  pedestrian- 
ism."  And,  as  is  well  known,  the  practice  of  His 
Eminence  of  Baltimore  in  this  respect,  like  that 
of  the  Holy  Father,  is  quite  in  accord  with  his 
preaching.  Their  example  may  well  settle  any 
question  as  to  the  congruity  of  the  exercise. 

Like  other  best  things  of  life— air,  light,  and 
water,  for  instance — walking  is,  moreover,  within 
the  reach  of  all,  constitutes  no  drain  on  even  the 
scantiest  incoiAe.  A  satiric  pedestrian  of  our  ac- 
quaintance inclines  indeed  to  the  belief  that  this 
very  inexpensiveness  is  one  reason  why  walking 
is  not  far  more  popular.  '*If  a  number  of  my 
friends,"  he  declares,  "had  to  pay  five  or  ten  cents 
for  every  mile  they  walked,  they  would  spend  sev- 
eral hours  a  day  on  the  road."  Be  this  as  it  may, 
not  even  the  poorest  priest  can  oppose  to  walking 
the  objection  so  potent  in  the  case  of  some  other 
forms  of  exercise,  "I  can't  afford  it** 

To  set  down  here  a  tithe  of  the  available  tes- 
timony as  to  the  healthfulness  of  walking  would 
be  taxing  the  capacity  of  the  remaining  pages  of 
this  volume,  so  let  it  be  summarized  in  this  state- 
ment of  Dickens:  "The  sum  of  the  whole  is  this: 
walk  and  be  happy;  walk  and  be  healthy.  .  .  . 
The  best  way  to  lengthen  out  our  days  is  to  walk 
steadily  and  with  a  purpose."  Apropos  of  this 
last  point,  the  lengthening  of  our  days.  Dr.  Pearce 


CLERICAL  HEALTH  AND  EXERCISE     163 

Kintzing  assures  us  that  "there  exists  no  better 
gauge  of  our  youthf  ulness,  our  physical  balance— 
of  the  distance  that  separates  us  from  senility — 
than  our  ability  to  walk  and  to  run." 

The  readers  of  this  book,   whatever  may   be 
their  personal  practice,  very  probably  accept  the 
theory  that  walking  is  beneficial;  but  they  may  be 
interested  in  an  authoritative  pronouncement  as 
to  the  amount  or  measure  of  walking  that  prudent 
regard  for  their  health  prescribes.     The  writer 
just  quoted,  Dr.  Kintzing,  in  a  volume  with  the 
attractive  title.  Long  Life  and  How  to  Attain  It, 
tells  us:   "Walking  furnishes   the  best  basis  of 
computation  for  the  amount  of  exercise  needed  in 
our    daily    lives.      Omitting    details,    making    a 
straight  cut  to  conclusions,  energy,  human  and 
mechanical,  is  measured  in  foot-pounds.    A  stan- 
dard day's  labor  (Parkes)  equals  the  lifting  of  300 
tons  to  the  height  of  one  foot.    Estimating  that  a 
sedentary  man  should  take  exercise  equivalent  to 
one-half  of  this  amount,  and  placing  his  weight 
at  145  pounds,  we  find  that  he  ought  to  walk  about 
nine  miles  daily;  since,  in  walking  on  the  level, 
we  raise  one-twentieth  of  the  weight  of  the  body 
at   each  step.     Naturally,  we  must  deduct   the 
amount  which  he  walks  in  the  conduct  of  his  busi- 
ness and  home  life.    Perhaps  a  fair  estimate  of 
the  latter  would  be  three  miles;  leaving  six  miles 
owing  to  the  average  strong  man  of  forty  years. 
After  fifty,  the  distance  may  be  reduced  ten  per 
cent  each  decade.** 

The  clause,  "placing  the  weight  at  145  pounds." 


164 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


in  the  foregoing  extract,  suggests  the  reflection 
that  the  average  weight  of  priests  forty  years  old 
—at  least  among  those  of  the  writer's  acquaint- 
ance— ^is  considerably  more  than  145  pounds.  In 
fact,  a  goodly  number  of  middle-aged  clerics  are 
unmistakably  obese;  and  they,  even  more  than 
others,  need  to  become  systematic  walkers.  What 
constitutes  obesity  may  be  gleaned  from  the  fol- 
lowing table  of  heights  and  weights,  drawn  up  by 
D.  H.  Wells,  Actuary,  and  utilized  by  medical  ex- 
aminers for  life  insurance  companies: 

NO.  1 — FOR  AGE  FORTY-SEVEN  AND  UPWARD 


Height 

Nomua 
weight 

-20  per 
cent 

+20  per 
eeot 

+80  per 
eent 

5  ft. 

134 

107 

161 

174 

5  ft.  1  in. 

136 

109 

163 

177 

5  ft.  a  in. 

138 

110 

166 

179 

5  ft.  Sin. 

141 

113 

169 

183 

5  ft.  4  in. 

144 

115 

173 

187 

5  ft.  5  in. 

148 

118 

178 

192 

5  ft.  6  in. 

152 

122 

182 

198 

5ft.  Tin. 

157 

126 

188 

204 

5  ft.  8  in. 

162 

130 

194 

211 

5  ft.  9  in. 

167 

134 

200 

317 

6  ft.  10  in. 

172 

138 

2i06 

224 

5  ft.  11  in. 

178 

143 

214 

331 

6  ft. 

183 

146 

220 

338 

6  ft.  1  in. 

188 

150 

226 

244 

6  ft.  2  in. 

194 

155 

233 

"32 

6  ft.  3  in. 

300 

160 

240 

260 

For  younger  ages  subtract  one-half  pound  for  each  year  under 
forty-seren,  and  the  result  will  be  the  normal  weifht  for  the 
given  age. 


CLERICAL  HEALTH  AND  EXERCISE    166 


In  connection  with  this  table  it  may  be  ex- 
plained that  the  applicant  for  life  insurance  is 
considered,  other  things  being  equal,  a  poorer  or 
safer  risk,  according  as  he  varies  more  or  less 
from  the  normal  weight  of  persons  of  his  height; 
and  that  when  his  weight  is  30,  or  more,  per  cent 
above  that  normal  figure,  conservative  companies, 
believing  that  his  longevity  will  be  less  than  the 
average  among  people  of  his  age,  will  issue  him 
a  policy  only  at  special  ratings.  Just  why  it  is 
that  "overweights"  are  considered  poor  risks,  that 
is,  are  thought  unlikely  to  live  the  average  length 
of  days,  is  thus  stated  by  Dr.  O.  H.  Rogerb:  *They 
are  abnormal.  They  are  prone  to  develop  heart 
disease,  apoplexy,  and  premature  arterio-sclero- 
sis.  They  are  peculiarly  liable  lo  diabetes,  rheu- 
matism, and  lithemia.  They  succumb  easily  to 
accidents  and  surgical  operations." 

Further  statistics  likely  to  interest  clerics  with 
a  tendency  to  become  unduly  corpulent  are  fur- 
nished in  table  No.  2,  prepared  in  connection 
with  the  "specialized  mortality  investigation"  of 
the  Actuarial  Society  of  America. 

Persons  of  weights  D  and  B  are  considered  bad 
insurance  risks;  those  of  weight  A  are  looked 
upon  as  very  bad  risks,  while  those  of  weight  C 
are  classed  as  persons  of  ordinary  weight.  To 
take  a  concrete  example :  When  Father  John,  six 
feet  in  height  and  aged  forty-five  years,  weighs 
only  one  hundred  and  forty-two  pounds,  his 
chances  of  enjoying  a  long  life  are  poor;  when  he 
weighs  anything  from  one  hundred  and  fifty-five 


166 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


MO.  f— TABLES 

;  OF  WE10HT8— AGE  FORTY 

AND  OV!Jl 

Htight 

D 

C 

B 

A 

5ft 

Under  114 

114-161 

162-174 

Over  174 

5  ft.    1  in. 

(« 

115 

iir  im 

164-176 

"     176 

Rft.    2  in. 

t< 

117 

117-165 

166-179 

"     179 

5ft.    Sin. 

« 

IIP 

iir'~i69 

170-183 

"     183 

5  ft.    4  in. 

« 

123 

123-173 

174-188 

"     188 

5  ft.    5  in. 

II 

126 

126-177 

178-192 

"     192 

5  ft.    6  in. 

11 

129 

120-182 

183-197 

"     197 

5ft.    Tin. 

II 

13M| 

1.53  1%8 

189- an4 

"     204 

5  ft.    8  in. 

II 

1^7 

i37-i';4 

.v'i -aio 

"   aio 

6  ft.    9  in. 

II 

142 

142  20U 

20i-2U. 

"     216 

5  ft.  10  in. 

i< 

146 

liG-20<i 

nit7-223 

"     223 

5  ft.  11  in. 

II 

150 

150  21 L 

21;;  2.^ 

"     230 

6  ft. 

II 

155 

15G-218 

219-237 

"     237 

6  ft.    1  in. 

II 

160 

160-226 

227-244 

"     244 

6  ft.    2  in. 

II 

165 

165-233 

234-253 

"     253 

6  ft.    3  in. 

II 

171 

171-242 

243-262 

"     262 

— Courtesy  of  Metropolitan  Int.  Co. 

to  two  hundred  and  eighteen,  his  chances  are 
good;  weighing  from  two  hundred  and  nineteen 
to  two  hundred  and  thirty-seven,  his  chances  are 
again  poor;  and  when  he  gets  beyond  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty-seven.  Father  John  needs  the 
treatment  diametrically  opposed  to  the  rest  cure, 
and  had  better  make  no  unnecessary  delay  in 
adopting  it. 

That  walking  is  an  effective  enemy  of  obesity, 
and  a  preservative  of  ideally  perfect  health,  the 
present  writer  has  the  best  of  reasons  for  believ- 
ing; and,  in  giving  them,  he  may  perhaps  be  per- 
mitted to  follow  the  example  of  Horace  Fletcher, 


CLERfCAL  HEALTH  AND  EXERCISE    167 

Richard  Harding  Davis,  and  other  magazinisto,  by 
using  the  first  personal  pronoun  instead  of  the 
third-    About  eight  years  ago.  I  weighed  fifty-two 
pounds  more  than  the  physicians  declared  nor- 
mal for  a  man  of  my  years  and  height,  and  had 
acquired  an  abnormal  girth,  which  was  neither  or- 
namental   nor   comfortable.     Reflection    on    the 
causes  of  this  condiUon  convinced  me  that  a  scant 
half-hour  or  so  a  day  in  the  open  air.  combined 
with  three  hearty  meals,  afforded  sufficient  ex- 
planation: and  a  little  further  reflection,  aided 
by  the  reading  of  several  standard  medical  works, 
brought  the  additional  conviction  that,  unless  I  de- 
sired to  become  a  victim  of  Brighfs  disease  or 
incur  the  risk  of  an  apoplectic  stroke,  I  would  do 
well  to  take  considerably  more  exercise  and  con- 
siderably less  food. 

From  a  very  modest  beginning  my  hygienic 
system  gradually  developed  into:  twelve  miles  of 
walking,  one  full  meal,  and  a  hot  bath,  every  day. 
In  the  course  of  six  months  I  rid  myself  of  the 
superfluous  fifty-two  pounds,  reduced  my  girth 
about  one-fourth,  and  found  myself  possessed  of 
that  real  joy  of  life  which  co-exists  only  with  per- 
fect health.  Save  that  the  daily  hot  bath,  once 
my  obesity  was  routed,  became  a  semi-weekly  one, 
I  have  followed  this  same  system  ever  since;  and 
have  yet  to  experience  even  eight  minutes  of  indis- 
position to  break  the  record  of  eight  years'  absolute 
internal  well-being.  Briefly,  my  habitual  dietary 
18  a  fasting  regime— a  bite  in  the  morning,  a  full 
meal  at  noon,  and  a  lunch  in  the  evening;  while 


168 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


my  pedestrianism  includes  four  miles  in  the  early 
morning,  two  miles  shortly  before  dinner,  and  six 
milra  in  mid-afternoon. 

These  twelve  miles  represent  three  hours  a 
day  in  the  open  air,  and  no  reputable  physician 
with  whom  I  have  talked  on  the  subject  has  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  such  a  period  is  excessive 
for  a  man  who  leads  a  sedentary  life  during  the 
remainder  of  a  sixteen  or  seventeen  hour  waking- 
day.  That  a  less  lengthy  period  would  fill  all  re- 
quirements may  be  readily  admitted.  Perhaps 
one-half  the  time  thai  I  devote  to  pedestrianism 
would  suffice  for  the  average  middle-aged  priest; 
Mdith  me,  it  is  a  case  where  the  proof  of  the  pud- 
ding is  in  the  eating,  and,  until  the  eating  becomes 
a  good  deal  less  delicious  and  exhilarating  than 
at  present,  I  expect  to  make  no  change  in  my  sys- 
tem. But  where  is  a  busy  man  to  find  three,  or 
two,  or  even  one  and  a  half  hours  to  devote  to 
walking  or  any  other  form  of  exercise?  The 
busier  he  is,  the  greater  the  likelihood  of  his  find- 
ing them.  With  priests,  as  'with  other  professional 
men,  nine- tenths  of  those  who  declare  that  tl^y 
have  no  time  for  exercise  lack,  not  time,  but  gen- 
uine method  and  system  in  utilizing  their  HmB, 
"Method,"  says  Cecil,  "is  like  packing  things  in  a 
box;  a  good  packer  will  get  in  half  as  much  again 
as  a  bad  one.'* 

Just  a  word  in  conclusion  as  to  the  claim  made 
for  walking,  that  it  is  mor&  constantly  available 
than  most,  if  not  all,  other  forms  of  outdo<H'  exer- 
cise. Weather  ccmditions  need  not,  and  should  not. 


■•^§«W* 


CLERICAL  HEALTH  AND  EXERCISE     169 


prevent  a  pedestrian  from  taking  his  usual  jaunts. 
In  my  personal  experience,  no  extreme  of  sum- 
mer heat  or  winter  cold— though  the  mercury  has 
ranged  from  115  degrees  above  zero  to  16  degrees 
below  it— and  no  storm  of  wind  or  rain  or  snow 
or  hail  during  the  past  eight  years  has  prevented 
my  taking  my  customary  three  walks  a  day. 
Dressing  to  suit  the  weather  is  prudence;  allow- 
ing atmospheric  conditions  to  interfere  with  one's 
exercise  is  not  far  removed  from  folly.  And  so,  to 
sum  up  with  Dickens,  let  me  advise  my  brother 
priests:  walk  and  be  healthy;  walk  and  be  happy. 


i 


XIV 

ORTHOEPY  IN  THE  PULPIT 

He  that  loveth  correction  loveth  knowledge:  but  he  that  hateth 
reproof  is  foolish. — Proverbs  lt:l. 

Even  in  a  speaker  of  recognized  ability  his  mispronunciations 
fall  harshly  upon  the  ear,  and  cause  the  hearers  to  suspect  that  his 
early  if  not  his  later  education  has  been  wanting  in  polish;  or 
(what  is  perhaps  more  to  his  detriment)  that  he  has  not  been 
accustomed  to  the  society  of  refined  and  cultivated  people. — W.  S. 
P.  Phyfe. 

In  order  to  deserve  a  place/  among  the  best  speakers,  it  is  not 
enough  that  one  should  hav«  what  is  commonly  termed  a  good 
education  and  good  sense;  ht  must  have  paid  particular  attention 
to  the  subject  of  pronunciation — unless  ne  has  been  surrounded 
during  the  whole  period  of  his  education  with  none  but  correct 
•pei^rs,  which  is  seldom  or  never  the  case,  at  least  in  this  coun- 
try.—Josepft  Thomat,  MB.,  LL.  D. 

ONE  Sunday  morning  about  twenty-flve  years 
ago,  the  pastor's  place  in  the  pulpit  of  a  cer- 
tain Canadian  church  was  taken  by  a  young 
priest,  a  professor  in  a  neighboring  college.  The 
preacher  acquitted  himself  fairly  well — at  least  in 
his  own  opinion — and  was  accordingly  not  much 
affected  by  the  good-humored  chaflf  indulged  in 
at  his  expense  by  a  company  of  four  or  five  at  the 
subsequent  dinner  in  the  presbytery.  Comments 
on  his  rounded  periods  and  striking  figures  and 
oratorical  climaxes  quite  failed  to  disturb  his 
equanimity;  but  one  bit  of  specific  criticism, 
though  it  came  in  the  guise  of  a  compliment, 
rather  nettled  him.  "Joking  aside,  Father,"  said 
the  critic,  "I  want  to  congratulate  you  on  your 

170 


ORTHOEPY  IN  THE  PULPIT 


171 


orthoepy.  You  spoke  a  full  half-hour,  yet  I  no- 
ticed only  three  mistakes  in  your  pronunciation." 
"Indeed!"  was  the  reply.  "May  I  ask  what  they 
were?"— "Well,  you  misplaced  ^e  accent  in  'dis- 
course' and  'vagary',  and  you  gave  the  wrong 
vowel-sound  to  the  first  syllable  of  'quiescent'." 
The  point  proved  to  be  well  taken,  and  as  the 
preacher,  though  not  incM-dinately  fond  of  correc- 
tion, did  love  knowledge,  he  was  not  foolish 
enough  to  resent  fee  implied  reproof.  Two  direct 
results  of  that  left-handed  compliment  were  a 
closer  study  of  the  dictionary  oo  the  part  of  the 
reverend  professor,  and  his  introduction  of  a  text- 
bodk  on  orthoepy  into  his  En^sh  classes  in  the 
college;  a  third,  though  indirect,  result  is  his  prep- 
aration, aftCT  the  lapse  of  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
oi  the  present  suggestive  rather  than  comprehen- 
sive paper. 

Any  hesitancy  about  proffering  to  the  schol- 
arly readers  of  this  volume  an  article  on  so  ele- 
mentary, not  to  say  so  kindergarten-like,  a  sub- 
ject as  correct  speech  has  yielded  to  the  writer's 
conviction  that  such  an  article  will  prove  gen- 
uinely useful  to  some,  at  least,  of  the  younger 
clergy,  and  may  perhaps  be  found  not  quite  de- 
void of  interest  to  a  good  many  of  their  elders. 
Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  spoke  for  others  besides 
himself  when  he  wrote:  "The  latch-key  which 
opens  into  the  chambers  of  my  inner  conscious- 
ness fits,  as  I  have  sufficient  reason  to  believe,  the 
private  apartments  of  a  good  many  other  people's 
thoughts.    The  longer  we  live,  the  more  we  find 


1 


172 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


&:>- 


that  we  are  like  other  persons.  When  I  meet  wiA 
any  fm^ts  in  my  own  mental  experience,  I  feel  al- 
most sure  that  I  shall  find  them  repeated  or  an- 
ticipated in  the  writings  or  conversation  of  oth- 
ers." Applying  this  theory  to  the  matter  in  hand : 
at  any  time  during  the  past  two  or  three  decades 
a  discussion  of  clerical  orthoepy  by  a  writer 
with  my  present  experience  would  very  surely 
have  interested  me;  consequently  there  are  prob- 
ably several  hundred  prospective  readers  of  this 
book  who  will  not  consider  it  a  waste  of  time  to 
peruse  the  following  paragraphs. 

Of  the  desirability  of  correct  pronunciation  in 
the  pulpit  there  can  scarcely  be  any  question.  If 
Scripture  warrant  be  called  for  to  emphasize  its 
importance,  such  wanant  can  without  undue 
straining  be  found  in  St.  Paul's  oft-quoted  coun- 
sel, or  precept:  "Let  all  things  be  done  decently 
and  according  to  order."  Now,  faulty  pronun- 
ciation is  emphatically  not  decent,  in  the  primary, 
etymological  sense  of  that  word — is  not  beccwfting^ 
not  befitting  either  the  dignity  of  the  pulpit,  the 
character  of  the  preacher,  or  the  nature  of  the 
preacher's  utterances.  Mispronouncing  is  clearly 
not  "according  to,"  but  against,  that  order  and  har- 
mony which  should  characterize  any  deliverance 
of  the  Word  of  God.  Our  spoken  langus^  is  the 
dress  of  our  thoughts,  and  it  would  be  d^icult  to 
prove  that  slovenly  utterance  in  a  preacher  is  'not 
fully  as  reprehensible  as  is  slovenly  attire;  that 
the  priest  who  is  guilty  of  a  carele»,  slipshod, 
vicious  method  of  expresaicm  is  aay  more  excus- 


ORTHOEPY  IN  THE  PULPIT 


173 


able  than  he  would  be  for  appearing  in  the  pulpit 
with  dishevelled  hair,  unshaven  face,  a  soiled  col- 
lar, and  a  ragged  surplice.  At  the  very  least,  in- 
correct pronunciation  is  quite  as  incongruous  in 
the  pulpit  as  the  violation  of  grammar  or  the  use 
of  slang.  There  is  at  bottom  just  as  much  impro- 
priety in  a  preacher's  discoursing  to  his  congre- 
gation on  the  "reel  diffrince  between  grievyus  and 
veenyil  sins"  as  in  his  assuring  them  that  "them 
there  Saints  simply  knowed  God's  will  and  done 
it,"  or  in  his  tolling  them  (as,  alas!  once  upon  a 
time  a  pastor  of  our  acquaintance  actually  did 
tell  his  astounded  flock) :  "That's  the  kind  of  a 
hairpin  I  am,  and  don't  you  forget  it." 

It  is  possible  of  course  that  carefulness  as  to 
one's  pronunciation  may  degenerate  into  pre- 
ciosity, or  the  extreme  of  being  overnice;  but  such 
undue  fastidiousness  is  certainly  not  so  common 
among  public  speakers  in  general  or  pulpit  ora- 
tors in  particular  as  to  constitute  anything  like  a 
prevalent  abuse.  Gross  blunders,  wide  deviations 
from  accepted  usage,  are  a  good  deal  more  in  evi- 
dence in  both  the  private  and  the  public  discourse 
of  even  professional  persons  than  is  purism,  scru- 
pulous accuracy,  or  affected  daintiness.  Excessive 
refinement  in  orthoepy  is  indeed  about  the  last 
fault  with  which  the  average  preacher  can  be 
charged,  save  in  patent  irony;  and  many  a  cleric 
who  flatters  himself  that  his  pronunciation  is  un- 
exceptionable is  in  reality  habitually  guilty,  not 
merely    of   neghgible    imperfections    and    venial 


,  ■.jrt'y*','    ,-«::;  J*fl*4M5«4='!^.'=  »&»--.*>: 


K  « :  t 


i      iS 


174 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


transgressions,  but  of  veritable  mortal  sins  against 
propriety  of  speech. 

If  the  foregoing  statement  impresses  the  reader 
as  being  a  piece  of  rhetorical  exaggeration,  let 
him  reflect  for  a  moment  on  the  way  in  which 
one  or  another  of  his  clerical  friends,  if  not  he 
himself,  would  be  liable  to  deliver  such  a  sentence 
as :  "My  dear  brethren,  it  is  ordinarily  a  good  plan 
for  those  who  are  conversant  with  the  Douay  ver- 
sion of  the  Bible  to  read  therein  the  vernacular 
rendering  of  the  introit,  the  epistle,  and  the  gos- 
pel of  each  Sunday's  Mass."  The  sentence  con- 
tains no  uncommon  words,  no  terms  likely  to  be 
foreign  to  an  average  preacher's  vocabulary;  yet 
the  writer  has  in  his  time  heard  seven  or  eight  of 
its  words  habitually  mispronounced  by  clerics  who 
would  have  indignantly  resented  the  imputation 
that  their  pronunciation  was  in  some  respects  il- 
literate rather  than  scholarly.  "Brethren"  is  a 
word  of  two  syllables,  with  the  accent  on  the  first, 
and  with  the  vowel-sound  of  short  e  (as  in  met) 
in  both;  yet  who  has  not  heard  it  pronounced 
"bruthem,"  "bruthi-en,"  or  "bretheren"?  "Ordi- 
narily" has  the  primary  accent  on  the  first,  not  the 
third  syllable;  "conversant"  is  also  accented  on 
the  first;  and  "with"  is  not  a  rhyme  for  "pith"  or 
"myth,"  its  th  being  sonant  or  vocal,  as  in 
"breathe."  "Douay"  has  the  accent  on  the  second 
syllable;  the  third  vowel  in  "vernacular"  is  the 
modified  long  u,  not  short  u,  or  short  i;  "introit" 


.  ^ 


miHi 


ORTHOEPY  IN  THE  PULPIT 


176 


is  a  word  of  three  syllablei  with  the  accent  on  the 
second;^  and,  finally,  the  t  in  "epistle"  is  silent. 

The  primary  impulse  of  a  reader  who,  on  con- 
sulUng  his  dictionary,  finds  that  he  has  all  his  life 
been  mispronouncing  any  one  or  several  of  these 
common  words,  is  perhaps  to  comment:  "Oh, 
well;  what's  the  odds?  My  people  understand  me; 
that's  the  main  thing."  The  comment  is  natural 
enough;  we  are  all  prone  to  excuse  ourselves  for 
violations  of  any  code,  moral  or  social;  but,  as  an 
argument,  it  is  a  patent  fallacy,  hardly  worth 
while  exposing.  The  "main  thing"  is  assuredly 
not  the  only  thing  that  merits  attention,  either  in 
speech  or  action,  else  rubrics  and  ceremonies  in- 
numerable might  be  disregarded  with  impuaity. 
Equally  fallacious  is  the  probable  comment  of 
some  downright  old  pastor  of  the  rough-and-ready 
type:  "Twould  suit  you  far  better  to  be  trying  to 
get  the  grace  of  God  in  your  heart,  and  put  some 
piety  into  your  sermons,  than  to  be  so  mightily 
concerned  about  all  this  Miss-Nancyism  in  pro- 
nouncing." If  there  were  any  incompatibitity  be- 
tween orthoepic  proficiency  and  the  deepest  ^ety, 
if  carefulness  in  pronouncing  a  sermon  meant 
carelessness  as  to  its  substance  and  form,  or  if 
correctness  of  delivery  could  be  secured  only  at 
the  cost  of  earnestness  and  unction,  the  supposi- 
titious old  pastor  would  be  right;  as  it  is,  he  is 
simply  begging  the  question.  It  is  a  perfectly 
gratuitous   assumption   that  a  scholarly,   correct 

» Though   p*rehaiice   you   don't   know   it, 
Still,  the  word  ii  introit. 


,a»..^ 


i 


176 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


'4 


ii 


speaker  is  necessarily  an  ineffective  one,  or  that 
the  force  of  the  best-constructed  and  m<»t  feel- 
ingly delivered  sermon  will  be  increased  by  the 
preacher's  disregard  of  good  usage  in  the  pronun- 
ciation of  its  words. 

Before  going  farther,  however,  something 
should  perhaps  be  said  of  this  phrase,  '*good 
usage,"  which  denotes  the  court  of  last  resort  in 
determining  whether  or  not  a  word  is  correctly 
prononrced.  Use  is  admittedly  the  law  of  living 
language,  both  as  to  the  meaning  and  spelling  of 
words,  and  as  to  their  sound  as  well.  The  usage 
of  En^ish-speaking  people  ultimately  decides  not 
only  whether  a  given  word  is  good  English  or  not, 
but,  in  case  it  is  a  legitimate  word,  how  it  should  be 
spelled  and  how  pronounced.  Naturally,  the  use 
that  thus  becomes  law  must  possess  several  essen- 
tial qualities.  It  must  be  reputable,  the  use  of  the 
educated,  not  the  illiterate;  it  must  be  national, 
not  merely  local  or  provincial;  and  it  must  be 
contemporary  or  present.  To  ascertain  what  good 
use,  as  thus  defined,  decrees  concerning  tl-e  pro- 
nunciation of  particular  words  is  the  professed 
business  of  lexicographers,  and  the  results  of  their 
labors  we  find  recorded  in  our  standard  diction- 
aries. Provided  our  manner  of  pronouncing  an 
individual  word  is  authorized  by  such  a  diction- 
ary we  need  not  take  account  of  any  adverse  crit- 
icism; if  we  cannot  quote  in  our  .supp<M*t  such  an 
accredited  authority,  our  position  is  logically  un- 
tenable. "Yes,"  interjects  some  reader  whose  wish 
is  possibly  father  to  his  thought,  "but  there  is  good 


ORTHOEPY   IN  THE   PULPIT 


177 


authority  nowadays  for  so  many  different  pronun- 
ciations of  the  same  words  that  it  is  practically 
impossible  to  pronounce  them  wrong."  This  state- 
ment is  measurably  true  of  a  few  English  words, 
such  as  quinine,  asthma,  cynosure;  but,  unfortu- 
nately for  some  of  us,  it  is  a  wild  exaggeration  as 
to  the  great  bulk  of  our  vocabulary. 

There  are  of  course  scores  of  words  in  pro- 
nouncing which  good  usage   sanctions   either  of 
two  ways;  but  there  are  other  scores  often  mis- 
pronounced in  a  fashion  certainly  unauthorized 
by  any  orthoepist  of  standing  in  the  past  or  the 
present,  and  not  likely  to  be  sanctioned  by  any 
standard  dictionary  of  the  future.     Whether  we 
put  the  accent  on  th«  first  or  on  the  second  sylla- 
bles of  such  verbs  as  contemplate,  con'  immate, 
demonstrate,  and  illustrate,  is  a  mere  matter  of 
taste  about  which  there  is  no  disputing:  but  our  ac- 
centing the  second,  instead  of  the  first,  syllables  of 
lamentable,    despicable,    peremptory,    and    ludi- 
crous, is  a  rank  violation  of  orthoepic  good  form 
for  which  no  adequate  excuse  is  available.    In  de- 
fa 'Ut  of  excuse,  there  must  be  some  reasonable  ex- 
[Ahiation.    What  is  it?    Why  do  speakers,  well 
edui  ated  at  least  if  not  scholarly,  so  often  mispro- 
r»)unce?    Or,  to  be  more  specific,  why  do  priests 
wh^  hu  e  spent  a  goodly  number  of  yeai-s  in  col- 
lege uA'l    seminary  so  frequently   transgress  the 
rules  of  ordio  py? 

In  the  first  pi, ice,  very  probably,  because  in 
their  ?  oyhood  they  had  incompetent  or  grossly 
negliger^  instructors.     In    the    second    place,    as 

IS 


I 


Mi 


178 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


likely  as  not,  because,  throughout  their  college 
course,  they  were  drilled  considerably  more  in  the 
pronunciation  of  Latin  than  in  that  of  their 
mother-tongue.  In  the  third  place,  because  of  an 
apparently  general  impression,  among  educators 
as  well  as  in  the  world  at  large,  that  correct  pro- 
nunciation is  acquired  without  any  conscious  ef- 
fort, is  imbibed  spontaneously  from  one's  envi- 
ronment, is  as  entirely  natural  an  acquisition  as 
is  the  growth  of  the  body  or  the  development  of 
the  mental  powers.  IJuch  an  impression  is  as 
thoroughly  erroneous,  at  least  in  this  country,  as 
any  proposition  ever  condemned  by  the  Holy  See. 
Pronunciation  of  some  kind  one  does  indeed  ac- 
quire without  conscious  advertence  to  the  pro- 
cess of  acquisition;  but,  given  the  conditions  of 
social  life  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  the  kind  is 
apt  to  be  faulty  and  vicious  rather  than  accurate 
or  correct.  The  ability  to  pronounce  English 
faultlessly  can  be  attained  only  by  genuine  and 
long-continued  study;  it  is  no  grace  Infused  at  the 
time  of  a  priest's  ordination,  and  there  are  even 
reasons  for  believing  that  it  is  not  a  necessary 
concomitant  of  the  reception  of  the  mitre  or  the 
pallium. 

It  is  a  commonplace  that  first  impressions  are 
apt  to  be  durable,  and  the  experience  of  every  one 
who  has  made  a  special  study  of  orthoepy  proves 
that  mispronunciations  acquired  in  boyhood  have 
a  most  exasperating  fashion  of  thrusting  them- 
selves on  the  tongue  even  when  that  unruly  mem- 
ber has  been  taught  better.    Now,  in  the  course 


ORTHOEPY  IN  THE  PULPIT 


179 


of  thirty  years  spent  in  the  classroom,  the  present 
writer  came  into  contact  with  boys  and  young 
men  from  all  the  Provinces  of  Canada  and  from 
most  of  the  States  of  the  Union,  and  he  long  ago 
discovered  that  while  orthocpic  improprieties 
vary  in  diflferent  geographical  districts,  improprie- 
ties of  some  kind  prevail  in  all  of  them,  so  that 
the  Spirits  of  verbal  cacophony  and  mutilated 
English  may  well  exclaim : 

No  pent-up  Utica  contractu  our  powers, 
The  whole  unbounded  contiaent  is  ours. 

Apropos  of  the  ejaculation  "Haow,"  uttered  by 
the  Divinity  Student  in  The  Professor  at  the 
Breakfast-Table,  the  author  of  that  book  remarks: 
"Gentlemen  in  fine  linen,  and  scholars  in  large 
libraries,  taken  by  surprise,  or  in  a  careless  mo- 
ment, will  sometimes  let  slip  a  word  they  knew 
as  boys  in  homespun  and  have  not  spoken  since 
that  time— but  it  lay  there  under  all  their  cul- 
ture." Instead  of  "boys  in  homespun,"  he  might 
have  said  "boys  in  short  dresses."  We  have  known 
a  priest  in  his  forties,  a  man  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary culture  and  a  quasi-professor  of  elocution, 
who  in  his  public  recitation  of  the  Rosary  or  the 
Angelus  invariably  said  "Hail  Melly,  full  of 
grace,"  a  patent  reversion  of  the  memory  to  the 
days  of  infancy.  Boyish  inaccuracies  of  speech, 
then,  are  not  easily  uprooted  even  when  they 
come  to  be  known  as  inaccuracies;  and  the  mis- 
chief is  that  many  a  cleric  keeps  on  repeating 
throughout  his  maturity  blunders  acquired  in  his 


MiCRocopv  nsountON  tbt  chart 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


/APPLIED  IN/HGE    he 

16U  Cost  Main  Street 

Rochwttr.  New  Yorii       U60S      USA 

(719)  462  -  0300  -  Phoiw 

(716)  288- 5989 -Fa» 


180 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


|i  n 

11:  I 


lin  i 


\  i: 


II 


youth  and  never  afterward  recognized  as  devia- 
tions from  correct  usage.  Perhaps  the  indication 
of  a  few  of  them  will  add  to  the  practicality  of 
this  paper.  '' 

Mistakes  in  pronunciation  arise  from  givinfl 
the  wrong  sounds  to  the  letters  of  a  word,  or  from 
placing  the  accent  on  the  wrong  syllable  thereof. 
As  there  are  some  fifty  sounds  for  the  twenty-six 
le  ters  of  our  English  alphabet,  and  as  the  possi- 
bihties  of  misplacing  the  accent  or  accents  in 
words  of  several  syllables  are  multiplex,  it  is  man- 
ifest that  m  such  an  ?ssay  as  this  only  compara- 
tively few  errors  can  be  taken  account  of.     To 
begin  with  our  first  vowel:  the  long  sound  of  a 
as  m  hay  or  say,  is  very  often  replaced,  and  in- 
correcUy  so,  by  the  sound  of  long  a  before  r  in  the 
same  syllable.     Our  Lady's  name,  for  instance, 
phonetically  spelled,  is  not  Mare-y,  but  May-ry. 
bo.  too.  the  papal  crown  is  ti-ay-ra.  not  ti-air-ra; 
Baruch  is  Bay-ruch.  not  Bare-uch;  and  vagary  is 
va-gay-ry,  not  va-gare-y.    The  short  sound  of  a 
as  m  shall,  should  be.  but  very  commonly  is  not.' 
given  to  the  iniUal  syllables  of  alternate,  alterna- 
tive, altercation,  and  to  the  third  syllables  of  ce- 
nealogir  and  mineralogy.    The  diphthong  «.  often 
takes,  m  the  utterance  of  priests  who  have  studied 
the  continental,  the  French,  or  the  Italian  pronun- 
ciation  of  Latin,  the  sound  of  long  a.     In  «gis, 
«on.  aeohan,  aetiology,    ^neas.    ^neid.    alumL. 
animalculae.  etc..  its  sound  is  uniformly  that  of 
long  e,  as  in  see. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  traditional  Eng- 


i;  I 


ORTHOEPY  IN  THE  PULPIT 


181 


ish  method  of  pronouncing  Latin,  it  is  evident 
that  those  who  have  learned  that  method  are  less 
liable  than  others  to  mispronounce  either  English 
words  and  expressions  taken  directly    from    the 
i^aun.  or  close  derivatives  from  Latin  roots.    Fol- 
lowers of  the  continental  method  may  readily,  for 
instance,  give  the  improper  vowel  sounds  to  such 
Ani^icized  words  and  phrases  as  affidavit,  ali^s, 
alibi,  apparatus,  cadaver,  capias,  data,  detritus. 
HK       rf '   f a^ai"en.   ignoramus,    vade    mecum. 
libra    hteratim,  verbatim,  nihilism,  quasi,  status, 
quietus,  via,  virago,  rebus,  rationale,  vice  versa, 
sine  die,  sine  qua  non,  and  dozens  of  others. 

With  regard  to  the  long  sound  of  the  vowel  u 
as  m  use.  muse,  cure,  its  full  pronunciation  is  ex- 
actly eqmvalent  to  yoo;  and  one  of  the  common- 
est orthoepic  blunders  of  other  days  was  the  sup- 
pression of  the  y-element  of  the  sound  in  such 
words  as  new,  tune,  duke,  suit  lure,  pronouncing 
them  noo,  toon.  dook.  soot,  loor.    While  most  or- 
thoepists  still  condemn  this  modification  of  the 
long  u  sound,  the  Century  Dictionary  notes  a  ten- 
dency among  even  good  speakers  to  lessen  the  y- 
element.     In  practice,  one  will  do  well  perhaps 
to  follow  on  this  point,  as  on  most  others  concern- 
ing either  the  pronunciation  or  the  proprietv  of 
words.  Pope's  counsel: 

In  words  as  fashions  the  same  rule  will  hold 
Alike  fantastic  if  too  new  or  old ; 
Be  not  the  first  by  whom  the  new  are  tried. 
Nor  yet  the  last  to  lay  the  old  aside 


182 


PRIESTLY  PRACri«.E 


1 1 

i 


t 


I  -Ui 


\'i  \ 


Commenting  on  the  avoidance  of  perhaps  the 
most  prevalent  of  all  errors  of  pronunciation,  at 
least  in  public  speaking,  Richard  Grant  White  has 
said:  "It  is  in  the  delicate  but  firm  utterance  of 
the  unaccented  vowels  with  correct  sound  that  the 
cultured  person  is  most  surely  distinguished  from 
the  uncultured."  To  mention  only  a  few  cases  in 
which  such  vowels  receive  an  incorrect  sound,  the 
initial  syllables  "en"  and  "em,"  and  the  final  syl- 
lables "ment,"  "less,"  and  "ness"  are  habitually 
mispronounced  by  a  wjiole  host  of  speakers  with 
the  sound  of  short  i  or  short  u,  instead  of  that  of 
the  short  e:  indure,  inlighten,  imbrace,  compli- 
munt,  commandmunts,  carelissniss,  gracefulnuss, 
etc.  This  fault  is  naturally  most  common  with 
speakers  who  fail  to  articulate  distinctly.  Clear- 
cut  articulation  is  absolutely  essential  to  any  one 
who  wishes  to  be  understood  by  a  large  body  of 
hearers,  especially  if  he  is  inclined  to  speak  "^t  all 
rapidly.  The  lack  of  it  turns  "Extreme  Unction'* 
into  "extramunction,"  and  occasions  many  other 
equally  egregious  errors.  It  is  to  be  remarked, 
however,  that  while  there  can  be  no  correct  pro- 
nunciation without  distinct  articulation,  the  con- 
verse statement  is  not  true.  A  man  may  articu- 
late with  exemplary  distinctness,  yet  at  the  same 
time  violate  sundry  canons  of  orthoepy.  A  small 
Acadian  friend  of  ours  articulated  admirably 
when  he  read  "despicable"  as  deez-pie-say-beel, 
but  he  committed  seven  faults  of  pronunciation 
in  the  process — gave  the  wrong  sounds  to  six  let- 
ters, and  in  addition  misplaced  the  accent.    As  a 


ORTHOEPY   IN  THE  PULPIT 


183 


matter  of  fact,  the  more  perfect  the  articulation 
of  a  poor  pronouncer,  the  more  emphasis  is  given 
to  his  bhmders.  "Heenyus"  (heinous)  or  "instid" 
(instead),  for  instance,  never  sounds  so  boorish 
as  when  enunciated  by  a  notably  distinct  speaker. 

The  sounds  of  the  English  consonants  consti- 
tute no  less  prolific  a  source  of  orthoepic  errors 
than  do  those  of  our  vowels.  G  hard  is  often  im- 
properly changed  to  g  soft  or  ;,  in  such  words  as 
gerrymander,  gehenna,  gibber,  gibbous;  and  soft  g 
as  often  sounded  hard  in  gillie,  gibbet,  Giotto,  gist, 
and  the  obsolete  gest.  The  sound  of  g  is  not  rarely 
suppressed  in  length  and  strength,  reducing  the 
words  to  "lenth"  and  "strenth."  Similarly,  the  h 
is  erroneously  made  silent  in  shriek,  shrink,  shrive, 
shrine,  shrill,  shrub  and  shrug.  By  the  improper 
omission  of  the  t  sound,  acts,  facts  and  faults  be- 
come "aks,"  "faks,"  and  "false."  In  all  probability 
ninety  per  cent  of  the  people  who  read  or  spoke 
about  the  explorations  of  Peary  and  Cook  a  few 
years  ago,  talked  of  the  "Artie,"  instead  of  the 
Arctic  Ocean;  not  a  few  cultured  persons  seem  to 
ignore  that  the  sound  of  th  in  truths  is  identical 
with  its  sound  in  Ah,  and  some  add  a  super- 
fluous th  to  the  word  height. 

As  for  the  third  source  of  orthoepic  blunders, 
or  the  third  form  of  them,  the  misplacing  of  the 
accent,  it  may  be  well  to  recall  Webster's  state- 
ment: "There  are  no  principles  by  which  to  de- 
termine the  accent  in  English."  The  language  has 
not  changed  materially  since  Webster's  time,  and 
any  so-called  rules  for  the  proper  accentuation  of 


184 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


i 


English  will  be  found  lo  be  so  vague  and  indeter- 
minate as  to  afford  little  genuine  assistance  in  pro- 
nouncing specific,  concrete  words.  Studying  the 
dictionary  and  observing  the  usage  of  good  speak- 
ers are  still  the  only  effective  means  of  learning 
where  '<^  place  the  accent  in  English  speech. 

That  a  more  general  employment  of  these 
means  is  desirable,  even  among  preachers,  is 
abundantly  evident  from  the  frequently  incorrect, 
and  occasionally  grotesque,  accentuation  given  to, 
among  other  words — adept,  adult,  abstractly, 
apotheosis,  exigency,  exquisite,  hospitable,  impo- 
tent, indisputable,  incomparable,  irrevocable,  ir- 
reparable, eligible,  contritely,  contumely  contu- 
macy, pedestal,  recitative,  temporarily,  arbitrarily, 
research,  address  (noun),  inquiry,  schismatic 
(noun),  tirade,  etc. 

Akin  to  improper  accentuation  is  the  error  of 
contracting  two  syllables  into  one.  Speaking  of 
Tom  Griffin's  pronunciation  of  "quiet,"  the  author 
of  The  Devil's  Parables  says  that  every  Corkonian 
of  his  day  pronounced  the  word  as  one  syllable 
"quite."  The  mistake  is  not  confined,  however,  to 
the  natives  of  Cork.  We  hear  "reel"  for  real, 
"pise"  (rhyming  with  rice)  for  pious,  "boynt"  for 
buoyant,  "dool"  for  duel,  "jool"  for  jewel;  and  a 
poet-priest  not  long  ago  spoiled  an  otherwise  fine 
sonnet  by  rhyming  "cruel"  (crule!)  with  "rule." 
The  elision  of  syllables  in  pronouncing  loii/»  words 
should  also  be  noted.  "Accompniment"  for  ac- 
companiment, "genrally"  for  generally,  "im- 
mejately"    for    immediately,    "authoritive"    for 


1'!= 
!    til 


ORTHOEPY   IN   THE   PULPIT 


185 


authoritative,  "suppositious"  for  supposititious, 
and  "superogatory"  for  supererogatory,  are 
examples. 

In  pronouncing  proper  names  from  Scripture, 
it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Catholic  spell- 
ing of  a  number  of  them  differs  from  that  found 
in  the  Protestant  version  of  the  Bible,  and  that  the 
different  spelling  frequently  calls  for  a  different 
pronunciation.  The  final  vowel  sound  in  Geth- 
semani  and  Noemi,  for  instance,  is  long  i,  as  in 
high.  The  same  sound  occurs  in  the  second,  and 
accented,  syllable  of  Jairus,  and  in  the  first  of 
Dives,  which,  by  the  way,  is  a  dissyllable,  and  does 
not  rhyme,  as  we  have  heard  a  retreat-master 
make  it  rhyme,  with  "hives."  Gyrene  is  a  word 
of  three  syllables,  with  the  accent  on  the  second; 
as  is  Emmaus,  accented  at  will  on  the  first  or 
second;  and  Raphael,  accented  on  the  first. 
Parasceve  has  four  syllables  with  the  third  (see, 
not  say)  accented,  or,  on  the  authority  of  the 
Century  Dictionary,  may  be  pronounced  as  a  tri- 
syllable with  the  accent  on  the  first.  Gapharnaum 
has  four  syllables  with  the  accent  on  the  second. 
The  final  syllable  of  the  name  of  the  Holy  City 
is  "lem"  rhyming  with  "hem,"  and  the  man  who 
says  "Jerusalum'  would  probably  complain  of 
getting  an  attack  of  "nooraligy"  at  the  "zoo- 
ological"  gardens,  or  talk  on  a  hot  day  of  being 
"covetyus"  of  a  neighbor's  "alapaca"  coat.  Other 
Biblical  names  commonly  mispronounced  are 
Belial,  Beelzebub,  Elishah,  Ezekiel,  Ezechias, 
Corozain.    Isaias,    Bethphage,   Esther,  Lebanon, 


Ill: 


ill: 


186 


PKIESTLY  PRACTICE 


Cedron.  and.  as  good  old  Father  V  used  to  sav- 
in defiance  of  orthoepy-"et  cethra.  cethra  cethra 
and  so  on  and  so  forth."  ^^mra,  cemra, 

to  th^r^^!;  ''?K^'^"  ^"""""'  »^«^*^ver,  to  suggest 
ance  mav  hJ  V  TT""'  ^^^^  ^"  -»^^<^h  his  uU.r- 
vrnHi.  f ^^    '''*'^**^*^'  «"*^  P^'-'^^Ps  enough  also  to 

Apart  from  any  considcraUon  of  the  verbal  eS' 
lence  congruous  to  8o.,ubIime  a  fSncln  »," 
P«ach,„g,  the  degree  of  a  man',  p^fldeney  ?„ 
o^oepy    «    very  commonly  accepted    X^er 

tout,  as  Holmes  remarks,  "there  is  a  Hiffl,.«„      u 
8~«»e»  and  meanni  of  s^^Wh  tw^h  a",  u'ne"n 

r„":„L\-rc,r-{u^reHr 

preachers  should  tend,  rather  th«n  o  ^^.^    *^**  «" 


y— 

ira, 

jest 
ter- 
►  to 
Ses 
be 
1  is 
Ily 
tit. 
Bi- 
as 
in 
er 


ORTHOEPY   IN  THE   PULPIT  187 

sion  to  the  title  of  phonologic  export  for  himself, 
and  he  thinks  it  highly  probable  that  it  is  a  very 
exceptional  preacher  to  whom  may  not  be  said 
with  substantial  truth: 

There  are  more  things  in  the  "Unabridged," 

your  Reverence, 
Than  are  dreamt  of  in  your  orthoepy. 


XV 

HEALIH  AND  HOLINESS  IN  CONVENTS 

Health  is  a  faithfu'     -nbasiador.— Pror.  13:17. 

An  ounce  of  wnotity  witb  exceptionally  good         .h  does  more 

h%ith.-S!'KLr'''  *''" "''''''''  ^''^''^  ^''' "  --•"" 

tin, J^fh-  T'1'  **'«°' °'  »•»«  bo'ly  '0'  the  love  of  .  )d,  for  manv  a 
time  the  body  must  wrve  the  soul;   an-i  let  rocourse  be  had' to 

S!n!  •■*"»■*"'"'';  ""•'*'  "  conversation  and  going  out  into  the 
fields,  as  the  confessor  may  direct.— St.  Teresa. 

A  CCORDING  to  the  official  Catholic  Directory 
*^    for  li^l4,  there  are  in  this  country  some  two 
hundred  and  odd  separate  orders,  congregations, 
aiid  institutes  of  religious  women;  and  their  num- 
ber is  increasing  from  year  to  year.     That  irte 
thousands  of  Sisterri  who  constitute  their  mem- 
bership are  effective  auxiliaries  of  the  clergy  in 
preserving,  strengthening,  and  extending  th3  faith 
throughout  the  Republic  is  a  truism  which  needs 
no  comment,  and  that  anything  inti?>>ately  con- 
cerning the  general  welfare  of  these  Sisters  pos- 
sesses   an    element   of   genu'ne   interest    to    the 
readers  of  this  volume  may  accordingly  be  taken 
for  granted.     Archbishops  and  bishops,    as    the 
jurisdictional  superiors  of  these  religious  women, 
and  ordinary  priests  as  their  chaplains,  spiritual 
directors,  confessors,  pastors,  or  school  superin- 
tendents, have  indeed  so  many  and  such  respon- 
sible relations  with  them  that  any  apology  for  the 

188 


HEALTH  AND  HOLINESS 


180 


appearance  of  the  present  essay  in     ic  pogcs  of 
this  book  would  seem  to  be  superfluous. 

Lest  the  title  of  the  essay  should  suggtst  to 
the  reader  any  erroneous  ideas,  let  the  writer  dis- 
claim at  once  any  intention  whatever  of  insinuat- 
ing that  the  inmates  of  our  convents  have  grown 
at  all  lax  in  the  observance  of  their  rule,  or  that 
their  piety,  zeal,  fervor,  or  spirit  of  mortification 
needs  any  stimulating.    On  the  co  itrary,  the  mem- 
bers of  all  the  half-score  or  dozen  sisterhoods  of 
which  he  has  any  fii-st-hund  knowledge  practice 
the  Christian  virtues,  observe  their  vows,  and  fol- 
low   the    prescriptions    of    their    rule   with   an 
exemplary    fidelity   which    has    frequently   com- 
pelled his  admiration  and  made  him  blush  for  his 
own  shortcomings.    Th:  advice  which,  he  thinks, 
may  not  inappositely  be  tendered  to  many,  it  not 
most,    \merican  convents,   is   a   purely  hygienic 
one :  as  a  rule,  our  Sisters  unduly  neglect  the  care 
of  their  bodily  health;  more  specifically,  they  do 
not  take  adequate  exercise  in  the  open  air. 

An  examination  of  the  mortaiity  statistics  of 
our  religious  communities  of  women  will  prob- 
ably show  that  the  longevity  of  Sisters  is  by  no 
means  so  notable  as  one  might  reasonably  expect 
to  find  it.  A  distinguished  English  physiciar.  Sir 
James  Crichton-Browne,  has  said  that  "every  man 
is  entitled  to  his  century";  and,  if  we  p  ice  any 
reliance  on  the  United  States  Census  Reports,  we 
are  justified  in  adding,  "a  fortiori,  every  woman." 
According  to  these  reports,  for  every  man  in  this 
country  who  has  reached  the  age  of  ninety,  there 


190 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


!    ! 


i  ! 


i-  : 


are  two  women  equally  old;  and  female  outnum- 
ber male  centenarians  in  a  still  higher  ratio.  Now, 
given  the  conditions  that  are  universally  conceded 
to  make  for  longevity:  the  simple  life  or  **plain 
living  and  high  thinking,"  regularity  as  to  meals 
."•nd  sleep,  sensible  dress,  temperance,  cheerful- 
ness, contentcdness  of  spirit,  congenial  compan- 
ionship, etc.,  it  would  seem  that  Sisters  should  be 
exceptionally  likely  candidates  for  the  attainment 
of  extreme  old  age. 

As  a  matter  of  statistical  fact,  relatively  few 
of  them  reach  four-score  years,  or  even  the  tradi- 
tional Biblical  limit  of  three  score  and  ten.  In 
view  of  their  numbers  in  this  country — some  fifty 
thousand — it  is  both  surprising  and  lamentable 
that  the  occurrence  of  a  Sister's  Golden  Jubilee, 
the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  her  religious  profession, 
should  be  a  comparative  rarity,  and  a  Diamond 
Jubilee,  the  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  profession 
day,  a  veritable  phenomenon.  It  may  sound  some- 
what extravagant  in  the  statement,  but  it  is  prob- 
ably verifiable  in  fact,  that  from  thirty  to  forty 
per  cent  of  American  Sisters  die  before  "their  time 
comes,"  their  death  being  of  course,  subjectively, 
entirely  in  conformity  with  God's  will;  but  being, 
objectively,  merely  in  accordance  with  God's  per- 
mission, which  is  quite  another  matter.  Now,  long 
life  is  a  blessing.  As  Spirago  says :  **It  is  a  great 
boon,  for  the  longer  one  lives,  the  more  merits  one 
can  amass  for  eternity."  So  precious  a  boon  is  it 
that  God  promised  it  as  a  reward  for  keeping  the 
fourth  commandment,  a  fact  of  which  St  Paul 


'  11 


HEALTH  AND  HOI»NESS 


191 


reminds  the  Ephcsians  (6:2,  3) :  "Honor  thy  father 
and  thy  mother  .  .  .  that  it  may  be  well  with 
thee,  and  thou  mayest  be  long-lived  upon  earth." 
Accordingly,  any  procedure,  any  scheme  of  ule, 
which  contributes  even  indirectly  to  the  shorten- 
ing of  one's  days  assuredly  needs  unusually  strong 
reasons  to  justify  it;  and,  with  all  <'  -  deference 
be  it  said,  such  procedure,  negative  il  »iot  positive, 
is  not  uncommon  in  our  convents.  Neglecting  to 
take  daily  exercise  out  of  doors  may  appear  a 
small  thing  in  youth  or  in  early  middle  life,  but 
there  is  nothing  surer  than  that  such  neglect  is 
seriously  detrimental  to  health;  and,  exceptional 
cases  apart,  poor  health  is  the  correlative  of  a 
truncated  career  rather  than  of  normal  length  of 
days. 

Underlying  this  disregard  of  the  open-air  exei^ 
cise  which  all  physicians  declare  to  be  essential 
to  bodily  well-being,  there  is  probably  in  the  minds 
of  many  Sisters  an  inchoate,  if  not  a  fully  de- 
veloped, conviction  that  vigorous,  robust  health  is 
more  or  less  incompatible  with  genuine  spiritu- 
ality, that  an  occasional  illness  of  a  serious  nature 
and  a  quasi-chronic  indisposition  at  the  best  of 
times  are  after  all  quite  congruous  in  professed 
seekers  after  religious  perfection,  incipient  fol- 
lowers of  the  saints.  That  is  a  pernicious  fallacy 
of  which  their  spiritual  directors  and  confessors 
should  strenuously  endeavor  to  rid  them.  Ill- 
health  directly  willed  by  God  is  doubtless  a  bless- 
ing; but  it  is  also  an  exception.  In  the  ordinary 
course  of  God's  Providence,  men  and  women,  in 


192 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


^ii  M 


the  cloister  as  in  the  world,  are  in  duty  bound  to 
take  such  care  of  their  bodies  as  will  result  in  the 
greater  efficiency  of  their  minds  and  souls,  and  in 
an  increasingly  acceptable  service  of  their  whole 
being  to  their  Heavenly  Father.  Health  is  to  be 
sought  for,  not  as  an  end,  but  as  an  excellent 
means,  most  frequently  indeed  an  indispensable 
means,  of  attaining  the  true  end  of  both  religious 
and  laity,  holiness  or  sanctity. 

The  saints  themselves  thoroughly  understood 
this  truth,  and  their  preaching  frequently  empha- 
sizes it,  even  though  the  practice  of  some  of  them, 
in  the  matter  of  austerities  and  penances,  did  not 
apparently  conform  thereto.  Apparently,  for  in 
many  a  case  it  was  precisely  the  superb  health  of 
the  saintly  body  that  rendered  the  austerities  and 
penances  possible.  Like  the  trained  pugilists  of 
the  present  day,  those  old-time  spiritual  athletes 
could  "stand  punishment"  to  an  extent  that  would 
permanently  disable  physical  weaklings.  It  is  to  be 
remembered,  also,  that  some  of  these  unmerciful 
castigators  of  their  bodies — St.  Ignatius  and  St. 
Francis  of  Assisi,  for  instance — frankly  avowed  in 
their  later  years  that  they  had  overdone  the  busi- 
ness of  chastising  the  flesh.  St.  Ignatius  took  good 
care  to  offset  the  influence  of  his  Manresa  example 
in  this  matter  by  making  due  provision,  in  his  rule 
and  his  counsels  to  his  religious,  for  proper  heed 
to  bodily  health.  Time  and  time  again  he  gave, 
in  varied  phrase  and  amplified  form,  the  advice 
stated  in  this,  his  general  precept:  "Let  all  those 
things  be  put  away  and  carefully  avoided  that  may 


1  I 


(  il 


HEALTH  AND  HOLINESS 


193 


injure,  in  any  way  whatsoever,  the  strength  of  the 
body  and  its  powers." 

Since  sanctity  is,   after  all,   only  sublimated 
common  sense,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  other 
saintly  founders,  reformers,  and  spiritual  direc- 
tors of  religious  orders  giving  the  same  judicious 
counsel.    "If  the  health  is  ruined,  how  is  the  rule 
to    be    observed?"  pertinently   asks   St.   Teresa. 
Writing  to  some  of  her  nuns  who  were  inclined  to 
follow  their  own  ideas  in  the  matter  of  prayer  and 
penance,    tiie    same    great    Carmelite    advises: 
"Never  forget  that  mortification  should  serve  for 
spiritual  advancement  only.    Sleep  well,  eat  well. 
It  is  inlinitely  more  pleasing  to  God  to  see  a  con- 
vent of  quiet  and  healthy  Sisters  who  do  what  they 
are  told  than  a  mob  of  hysterical  young  women 
who  fancy  themselves  privileged.     ..."  "Gov- 
ern the  body  by  fasts  and  abstinence  as  far  as 
health  permits"  says  the  Dominican  rule.  "I  have 
seen,"  writes  St  Catherine  of  Siena,  "many  peni- 
tential devotees  who  lacked  patience  and  obedi- 
ence because  tiiey  studied  to  kill  their  bodies  and 
not  their  self-will."    To  e^  ery  religious  order  and 
its  members  may  well  be  applied  the  words  of  a 
Jesuit  General,  Father  Piccolomini,  to  his  own  sub- 
jects: "It  may  be  said  Uiat  an  unhealthy  religious 
bears  much  the  same   relation    to   the   order   of 
which  he  is  a  member  as  a  badly  knit  or  dislocated 
bone  does  to  the  physical  body.    For  just  as  a 
bodily  member,  when  thus  affected,  not  only  can- 
not perform  its  own  proper  functions,  but  even  in- 
terferes with  the  full  efficiency  of  the  other  parts, 

IS 


i 

i 
It" 

f  ■    ir. 


194 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


so  when  a  religious  has  not  the  requisite  health, 
his  own  usefulness  is  lost  and  he  seriously  inter- 
feres with  the  usefulness  of  others." 

Were  further  testimony  needed  to  expose  the 
fallacy  that  health  is  something  to  be  slighted, 
rather  than  cultivated,  by  a  fervent  nun,  it  could 
be  furnished  in  supera'  undance.  "Health,"  says 
Cardinal  Newman,  "is  a  good  in  itself,  though 
nothing  came  of  it,  and  is  especially  worth  seek- 
ing and  cherishing."  In,  1897,  Pope  Pius  X,  then 
Cardinal  Sarto,  reported  to  Rome  concerning  his 
seminary  in  Venice,  as  has  been  stated  on  a 
former  page:  "It  is  my  wish,  in  a  word,  to  watch 
the  progress  of  my  young  men  both  in  piety  and 
in  learning;  but  I  do  not  attach  less  importance  to 
theii;  health,  on  which  depends  in  a  great  measure 
the  exercise  of  their  ministry  later  on."  A  dis- 
tinguished director  of  souls  in  our  own  times,  the 
late  Archbishop  Porter,  favored  one  of  his  spiritual 
children,  a  nun,  with  the  following  sane  advice: 
"As  for  evil  thoughts,  I  have  so  uniformly  re- 
marked in  your  case  that  they  are  dependent  upon 
your  state  of  health,  that  I  say  without  hesitation: 
begin  a  course  of  Vichy  and  Carlsbad  .  .  . 
Better  far  to  eat  meat  on  Friday  than  to  be  at  war 
with  every  one  about  us.  I  fear  much  you  do  not 
take  enough  food  and  rest.  You  stand  in  need  of 
both,  and  it  is  not  wise  to  starve  yourself  into 
misery.  Jep lousy  and  all  similar  passions  become 
intensified  when  the  body  is  weak.  .  .  .  Your 
account  of  your  spiritual  condition  is  not  very  bril- 
liant; still  you  must  not  lose  courage.    Much  of 


HEALTH  AND  HOLINESS 


195 


your  present  suffering  comes,  I  fear,  from  past 
recklessness  in  the  matter  of  health."  This  is 
merely  repeating  in  other  words  what  St.  Francis 
of  Sales,  three  centuries  before  Archbishop  Porter, 
wrote  to  a  nun  of  his  Ume :  "Preserve  your  physical 
strength  to  serve  God  with  in  spiritual  exercises, 
which  we  are  often  obliged  to  give  up  when  we 
have  mdiscreetly  overworked  ourselves." 

Enough  of  theory;  what  about  practice?     In 
the  present  writer's  opinion,  the  practice  in  all 
convents  should  be  that  every  Sister  not  incapaci- 
tated by  illness  or  infirmity  should  take  outdoor 
exercise  of  some  kind  for  an  hour  or  two  daily 
Sisters  who  are  "on  their  feet   all   day"    in    the 
kitchen,  the  laundry,  the  clothes-room,  the  hos- 
pital ward,  the  infirmary,  or  "all  over  the  house" 
as  portresses,  ought  to  have  at  least  a  half-hour 
m  the  morning  and  another  half -hour  in  the  after- 
noon or  evening  out  in  the  open,  where  they  can 
breathe  unvitiated  air  and  promote  the  oxygena- 
tion of  their  blood.     As  for  teachers  and  others 
engaged  in  sedentary  occupations,  whether  in  the 
sewing-room,  the  library,  or  the  office,  a  full  hour 
m  the  forenoon  and  another  in  the  afternoon  can 
hardly  be  considered  extravagant  concessions  to 
..«Tu     JJ,^*^^^«»'7    energizing    and    recuperation. 
WhaV.    exclaims  some  scandalized  Superioress, 
lose  two  hours  a  day,  or  even  one,  when  there  is 
so  much  work  to  be  done?    The  idea  of  wasting 
so  much  time!"     Pardon,  Reverend  Mother;  the 
time,  so  far  from  being  wasted,  would  be  most 
profitably  employed— yes,    and   could   easilv   be 


m 


196 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


spent  fully  as  meritoriously  as  the  period  given 
to  meditation,  spiritual  reading,  or  even  a  visit  to 
the  Blessed  Sacrament. 

The  individual  S:^*er  who  pleads  lack  of  time 
for  even  an  hour  a  day  of  outdoor  exercise  is 
speaking  either  absolutely  or  relatively.     If  ab- 
solutely, if  her  "obedience,"  the  aggregate  of  her 
assigned  duties,  is  so  onerous  that  she  really  has 
no  time  left  after  its  accomplishment  and  the  per- 
formance of  her  spiritual  exercis'."^,  then  the  mis- 
fortune is  hers  and  the  fault  is  her  Superior's. 
And    fault    there    undoubtedly    is.    There    can 
scarcely  be  found  a  more  graphic  instance  of  the 
"penny  wise,  pound  foolish"  policy,  a  more  irrep- 
arable kind  of  false  economy  than  to  lessen  the 
efficiency,  undermine  the  health,  and  ultimately 
shorten  the  life  of  a  religious  subject  by  over- 
loading her  with  work,  mental  or  manual.    The 
inevitable  result  is  periodical  illness,  prostration, 
collapse;  and  an  all  too  common  consequence  is 
a  sojourn  in  the  hospital  for  a  surgical  operation, 
or  several  operations,  a  protracted  invalidism,  and 
finally  the  death  at  thirty-five,  forty,  or  fifty,  of  a 
woman  who  should  be  rendering  effective  service 
to  her  community  for  a  quarter  or  a  third  of  a 
century  longer.    Apart  from  any  consideration  of 
economy,  such  supposititious  action  on  the  part 
of  a  Superior  might  readily  involve  a  question  of 
justice.    The  parents  who  send  their  daughters  to 
a  convent  boarding-school,  and  the  pastors  who 
engage  Sisters  for  their  parish  schools,  have  a 
quasi-right  to  the  full  efficiency  of  the  teachers. 


HEALTH  AND  HOLINESS 


197 


and  if  the  laUer  are  overtaxed,  such  efficiency  is 
normally  impossible. 

In  all  probability,  however,  the  case  supposed 
rarely  if  ever  occurs,  unless  in  an  emergency  and 
for  a  brief  period.  Our  individual  Sister  is  very 
likely  speaking  only  in  a  relative  sense.  Her  state- 
ment that  she  lacks  time  for  exercise  may  well  be 
slighUy  hyperbolical.  The  average  nun,  like  the 
average  religious  or  secular  priest,  can  usually 
find,  or  make,  time  for  what  she  believes  to  be 
genuinely  worth  while.  Hence  her  failure  to  safe- 
guard her  health  by  taking  judicious  outdoor  exer- 
cise is  doubtless  not  her  Superior's  fault,  but  her 
own.  That  she  does  not  recognize  the  existence 
of  any  fault  in  the  matter  is  probable  enough;  as 
likely  as  not  she  considers  that  her  abstention 
from  physical  exercise  in  order  to  give  additional 
time  to  supererogatory  work  or  prayer  is  merely 
a  manifestation  of  laudable  zeal.  Of  Sisters  of 
this  stamp  let  the  writer  say  with  St.  Paul:  "I 
bear  them  witness  that  they  have  a  zeal  of  God, 
but  not  according  to  knowledge." 

As  to  the  kind  of  outdoor  recreation  that  will 
best  subserve  the  preservation  or  the  restoration 
of  Sisters'  health,  comparatively  little  need  be 
said.  The  mere  breathing  of  the  fresh  air  after 
being  cooped  up  for  hours  in  class-room  or  office 
is  a  blessing,  even  if  the  lungs  are  the  only  organs 
exercised;  but  exertion  of  the  limbs  and  the  va- 
rious sets  of  muscles  is  of  course  strongly  advis- 
able. Gardening  is  a  species  of  manual  labor  gen- 
erally considered  not  unfit  for  even  the  daintiest 


198 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


1    -!l!i' 

;  ,   il:r! 

1  .  ir  3  ! 


M'lJj 


and  most  cultured  ladies,  so  the  cultivation  of 
flowers    at    least    (supposing    vegetables    to    be 
eschewed)  might,  wherever  possible,  congruously 
occupy  some  porUon  of  a  Sister's  leisure.    The 
community  cemetery,  to  which  among  all  grave- 
yards may  surely  be  given  with  most  propriety 
the  beautiful  German  name,  "God's  Acre,"  sup- 
plies   another    field    for   health-giving  physical 
activities.    In  looking  after  the  orderly  trimness  of 
walks  and  alleys,  in  planting  and  pruning  young 
trees  and  shrubs,  and  in  embellishing  the  graves 
themselves  witii  living  blooms,  our  Sisters  would 
be  boUi  improving  their  ^wn  health  and  accom- 
plishing a  loving  duty  toward  their  departed  com- 
panions and  fnunds.    Of  outdoor  games  in  which 
religious  women  might  indulge  with  no  suggestion 
of  impropriety,  croquet  yields  a  certain  amount 
of  genUe  exertion  and  may  be  safely  commended 
to  even  the  most  fragile  and  delicate. 

The  best  exercise,  however,  for  Sisters  (as  for 
all  other  people)  is  Uie  simple,  easy,  inexpensive, 
natural  one— walking.  Says  an  English  physician: 
"Walking  as  an  exercise  is  without  question  the 
least  injurious  and  can  be  made  the  most  uni- 
versally beneficial  of  all  outdoor  sports.  It  is 
suitable  for  all  ages.  It  is  within  the  reach  of  the 
poor  as  well  as  the  rich,  and  it  can  be  graded  to 
the  physical  ability  of  the  most  delicate  or  pre- 
scribed so  as  to  tax  the  utmost  capacity  of  endur- 
ance in  the  strongest."  An  American  medical 
author.  Dr.  Kintzing,  whom  we  have  already 
quoted  in  a  previous  essay,  is  more  specific.    He 


HEALTH  AND  HOLINESS 


199 


states  that  women  of  medfum  stature  and  ordi- 
nary strength  need  to  walk  daily  from  four  to 
SIX  miles.    And  he  adds:  "I  can  not  too  strongly 
urge  upon  women  the  value  of  a  daily  promenade 
m  the  open  air.    The  returns  in  retained  vigor, 
youthfulness.  brilliancy  of  complexion  (sic),  and 
robust  health  repay  the  exertion  a  hundred-fold, 
spasmodic  essays  do  not  suffice.    One  day  over- 
domg,  omitting  several,  housed  up  in  bad  weather 
discouraged   by  inconveniences,   are   ineffectual! 
When  one  is  properly  dressed  and  properly  shod, 
the  tramp  soon  becomes  a  pleasure  anticipated 
rather  than  a  task." 

That  last  phrase,  "rather  than  a  task,"  suggests 
a  reflection  which  it  may  be  worth  while  to  ex- 
press     Should  there  chance  to  be  any  middle- 
aged  Sisters  afflicted,  as  are  a  good  many  middle- 
aged  pnests,  with  undue  obesity,  about  as  profit- 
able and  meritorious  a  form  of  mortification  as 
they  can  take  up  is  the  reduction  of  their  weight 
to  the  normal  figure  by  means  of  judicious  walk- 
ing and  dieting.    As  it  is  generally  admitted  that 
we  all  eat  about  a  third  too  much,  a  degree  of 
abstinence  that  will  sensibly  mortify  the  appetite 
may  be  practiced  without  the  slightest  injury,  nay 
with  positive  benefit  to  health  and  strengUi     As' 
IS  well  said  in  the  preface  to  Francis  Thompson's 
Health  and  Holiness:   "The  laws  of  perfect  hy- 
giene, the  culture  of  the  'sound  bodv,'  not  for  its 
own  sake,  but  as  the  pliant,  durable  instrument 
of  the  soul,  are  found  more  and  more  to  demand 
such  a  degree  of  persevering  self-restraint  and 


'•  a 


r 


I  II 


t  ;  I 


200 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


self-resistance  as  constitutes  an  ascesis,  a  morti- 
fication, no  less  severe  than  that  enjoined  by  the 
most  rigorous  masters  of  the  spiritual  life."  Su- 
pematuralizcd  as  it  surely  would  be  by  the  purity 
of  intention  so  characteristic  of  Sisters,  such 
mortification  would  be  not  less  a  spiritual  asset 
than  a  physical  boo.i. 

May  it  not  be  hoped  that  such  of  the  clergy  as 
come  into  contact  with  these  self-sacrificing 
daughters  of  religion,  and  more  particularly  those 
clerics  who  preach  their  annual  retreats,  will  exert 
their  influence  in  the  direction  indicated  in  this 
paper?  It  wi"  be  entirely  safe  to  assure  the 
Sisters  that  they  cannot  do  better  for  the  Church, 
their  community,  and  themselves  than  follow  the 
advice  of  St.  Teresa  to  her  nuns:  "Take  care  of 
the  body  for  the  love  of  God.'* 


XVI 
THE  LEISURE  OF  CLERICS  AND  RELIGIOUS 

Everjthingr  hits  its  time.--Eeeleai<utes  3:1. 
OoeSi.  **''*^'  ^'^"^  ""^  *""'"^'''  *'  ''*  '''"  *""*  »■•  i*  aright— 

The  more  we  do,  the  more  we  can  do:  the  more  busT  we  An 
the  more  leisure  we  have.— JJocKM.  '  *' 

QF  all  thf,   centuried   fallacies    by   which    in- 
^^    dolence,    disinclination,    irresolution,    and 
mere  velleity  have  ever  sought  to  justify  either  the 
evasion  of  duty  or  the  non-performance  .f  optional 
thmgs  really  worth  while,  perhaps   the   hoariest 
and  the  flimsiest  is,  "I  haven't  time."  The  veritable 
slogan  of  many-sided  incompetency  in  the  secular 
world  of  science  and  art  and  commerce  and  in- 
dustry, this  disingenuous  phrase  is  by  no  means 
so  unfamiliar  as  ii  should  be  in  spheres  and  en- 
vironments supposed  to  be  "in  the  world  but  not 
of  it,"  in  rectories  and  parish-houses,  in  colleges 
and  seminaries,  in  monasteries  and  convents.  This 
much  being  said  by  way  of  preamble,  it  is  of 
course  superfluous  to  add  that  the  specific  animad- 
versions contained  in  the  following  paragraphs 
are  addressed,  not  so  much  to  the  orderly  and 
efficient  cleric  or  religious  who  cons  the  pages  of 
this  volume,  as  to  that  conveniently  indefinite,  if 
quasi-ubiquitous,  individual— "the  other  fellow." 
To  begin  with  an  incontrovertible  proposition. 

201 


I  I 


202 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


:iH".'i 


one  whic^  admits  of  no  possible  gainsaying:  each 
of  us  ha-i  all  the  Ume  there  is.    Let  the  inequality 
of  men's  other  possessions  be  ever  so  marked,  of 
time  at  least  all    have    the   same   measure    and 
amount.   For  millionaire  and  pauper,  for  pope  and 
prelate  and  parish  priest,  for  prior  and  friar,  for 
Mother  General  and  Sister  Lowliest,  the  day  holds 
juit  twenty-four  hours— hours  which  joy  may  seem 
to  equip  with  wings  or  grief  to  fetter  with  ball 
and  chain,  hc:«rs  that  may  be  utilized  or  wasted, 
vivified  with  merit  or  murdero<l  with  iniquity; 
but  absolutely  of  the  san^e  duraU<.n,  sixty  minutes 
to  each  of  them,  and  twenty-four  of  them  to  every 
day.    Just  what  fraction  of  these  two  dozen  hours 
a  cleric  or  a  religious  (of  either  sex)  may  legiti- 
mately claim  as   leisure— using   the    term    as    a 
synonym  of  opportunity  f «  r  ease;  freedom  from 
necessary  business  or  occupation;  spare  Ume,  in 
a  word— this  is  a  matter  upon  which  opinions 
have  always  been,  and  will  probably  always  con- 
tinue to  be,  at  variance;  but  there  has  never  been 
any  question  among  sane  physicians  of  soul  or 
body  as  to  the  justice  and  advisability  of  allowing 
some  mtervals  of  leisure  in  even  the  best-ordered 
day.    On  this  point  the  spiritual  writer,  the  theo- 
lo^an,  the  moral  philosopher,  the  psychologist, 
and  the  man  in  the  street  are  absolutely  at  one 
emphasizing  a  truth  which  the  common  sense  of 
mankmd  long  ago  crystallized  in   the  proverb: 
"All  work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a  dull  boy  " 
Not  only  is  it  right,  in  theory,  that  clerics  and 
religious    should    have  a  fair  amount  of  daily 


LEISURE  OF  CLERICS  AND  RELIGIOUS 


203 


leisure,  but  it  is  a  fact  that,  with  exceptions  so 
few  in  number  as  to  be  negligible  for  any       ^pose 
of  argument,  in  actual  practice  they  do  have  it 
They  may  not  always  admit  the  fact,  and  some^ 
times  mdeed  they  may  not  recognize  it;  but  it  is 
a  truth  nevertheless  that  as  a  rule  secular  priesU 
and  members  of  religious  communities  have,  or 
would  Lave,  if  they  systemaUzed  their  time,  at 
least  an  hour  or  two  a  day  unencumbered  with 
specific   duties,  occupation,   or  employm'^ni— an 
hour  or  two,  that  is.  of  genuine  leisure,  to  be  spent 
just  as  they  think  fit.    The  statement  that  one  has 
no  Ume  for  this  or  that  diversion  most  frequently 
means  that  one  prefers  some  other  diversion.  The 
whole  question  of  leisure,  or  lack  of  leisure,  for  a 
definite  purpose  is  mainly  indeed  a  matter  of  the 
relative  importance  we  attach  to  different  activ- 
iUes,  or  of  the  relative  pleasure  we  take  therein. 
For  those  duUes  universally  recognized  as  of  pri- 
mary importance— eaUng  and  sleeping,    for    in- 
stance-no one  pleads  lack  of  Ume.    So  with  one's 
routine  work:  parish  priests  do  not  declare  that 
they  have  no  time  to  say  Mass  or  the  Breviary,  nor 

tLTi^^fT  '"  ^"'«^'  °''  ^'^^""^  in  convents 
assert  that  they  are  too  busy  to  teach  their  classes. 

It  IS  rather  with  regard  to  duties  less  obviously 

insistent  and  to  occupations  which,  while  not  of 

ftl^n  ° n'^"*'°"!,?''^  y'*  thoroughly  congruous  and 
eminenUy  expedient,  that  we  hear  the  fallacious 
I  have  no  time."  Father  A  would  really  like  to 
prepare  his  Sunday  sermon  more  adequately,  but 
what  with  one  thing  and  another  during  ihe  week 


904 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


* 

i 

'     i' 

! 

::     Hi; 

i 

■;'.     i'i 

. 

\ 

i? 

he  lack*   the   requisite   opportunity.    Father   B 
would  be  delighted  to  be  able  to  spend  several 
hours  a  day  in  reading  solid  works-theo    -ical. 
scriptural,  or  Uturgical;  but  his  time  is  so  -om- 
pletely  talcen  up  with  the  hundred  odds  and  ends 
of  parish  bus?  xess  that  he  is  obliged  to  lorego  the 
pleasure.    F.    >er  C.  who   weighs   fifty   or  sixty 
pounds  more  uian  is  normal  for  a  man  of  his  age 
and  height,  knows  that  he  ought  to  take  a  goodly 
amount  of  physical  exercise  every  day,  but  then 
he  has  to  be  at  the  constant  beck  and  call  of  his 
parishioners,  and  so  is  debarred  therefrom.   Sister 
D  is  fully  aware  that  her  efficiency  in  the  class- 
room will  suffer  from  her  infrequent  enjoyment 
of  fresh  air,  but  tliere  is  so  much  to  be  done  that 
•Us  really  impossible  to  go  out  for  a  walk.    And 

so  on.  - 

Now,  making  .iue  allowa  ce  for  excepUonal 
cases,  if  is  safe  to  affirm  that,  nine  times  out  of 
ten,  or,  more  Ukely,  ninety-nine  out  of  a  hundred, 
such  statemente  as  these  arc  merely  inept  excuses. 
Active  pretexts  designed  to  lull  an  uneasy  con- 
science or  to  forestall  the  censure  one  feels  to  be 
deserved.    In  all  probability  Father  A  habitually 
expends  more  time  in  gratifying  from  day  to  day 
the    haphazard    and    unprofitable    whims    and 
caprices  of  the  moment  than  would  suffice  for  the 
due  preparation  of  several  sermons.    Father  3's 
parish  work  does  not  prevent  his  devoting  several 
half-hours,  not  to  say  whole  ones,  daily,  to  tLe 
assiduous  perusal  of  sundry  papers,  magazines, 
and  "best-sellers."    Father  C.  despite  the  alleged 


LEISURE  OF  CLERICS  AND  RELIGIOUS    206 


incessant  demands  of  his  pnrishioners,  manages 
to  attend  without  fail  all  the  ball  games  played 
in  his  city  or  town.  And  it  is  even  conceivable 
that  Sister  D  may  spend  in  superfluous  correspon- 
dence, in  unnecessarily  frequent  or  prolonged 
visits  to  the  parlor,  in  protracted  chats  with  her 
house-mates,  or  in  reading  books  not  really  essen- 
tial to  her  spiritual  advancement  or  intellectual 
growth,  a  period  amply  sufilcicnt  for  the  outdoor 
exercise,  which  is  scarcely  less  necessary  to  her 
than  is  food  or  sleep. 

The  perspicacious  reader  will  have  noticed  the 
less  pc/'Jve  and  categorical  form  of  that  last 
sentence,  as  compared  with  the  several  preceding 
ones,  and  will  doubtless  readily  apprehend  the 
reason  therefor.  The  writer  has  first-hand  knowl- 
edge of  dozens  of  Fathers  A,  B,  and  C;  his  ac- 
quaintance with  the  counterparts  of  Sister  D  is 
both  too  limited  and  too  superficial  to  warrant  any 
reliable  generalizations  as  to  their  normal  mode  of 
action.  Just  here,  oy  the  way,  is  perhaps  the  most 
fitting  place  for  the  insertion  of  a  human  docu- 
ment which  should  possess  no  little  interest  for 
many  a  reader  of  this  volume,  and  which  in  reality 
constitutes  the  main  raison  d'itre  of  the  present 
essay.  It  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  recently 
received  from  the  Mother  Superior  of  a  religious 
community  devoted  to  educational  work: 

.  .  .  M»7  I  suggest,  aa  a  subject  for  some  future  article  of 
yours  in  the  Ecclesiagtical  Review,  the  injustice  done  to  Sisters 
in  the  parochial  schools  f  The  Sisters  are  engaged  to  teach  the 
school,  not  to  clean  the  church,  to  be  the  sacristans  (with  all  that 


1 


206 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


that  entaUs),  to  play  the  organ,  and  conduct  aU  the  sodalities  of 
the  parish.  In  many  places  they  are  expected  to  do  all  this  and 
more,  and  at  the  same  time  to  teach  from  nine  to  twelve,  and  from 
half -past  twelve  or  one  to  half-past  three  or  four,  to  correct  all 
their  papers,  to  prepare  their  lessons,  to  attend  to  their  reUgious 
duties,  and  to  keep  pace  with  the  furious  gallop  of  modern  educa- 
tion.    It  is  absolutely  impossible— something  will  have  to  suffer. 

Accepting  this  statement  at  its  face  value,  one 
is  at  a  loss  to  determine  which  of  the  two  is  the 
more  to  be  admired  (in  the  strictly  etymological 
sense  of  the  word),  the  pastor  who  seeks  to  im- 
pose such  unconscionable  burdens,  or  the  Mother 
Superior  who  allows  het-  Sisters  to  accept  them. 
That  the  conditions  stated  are  purely  and  simply 
intolerable  goes  without  saying.     Any  one  who 
knows  from  personal    experience    (as    does    the 
present  writer)  what  it  is  to  teach  for  six  hours 
a  day,  who  understands  the  nervous  wear  and 
tear  inseparable  from  attendance  in    the    class- 
room and  the  subsequent  fatiguing  drudgery  of 
correcting  multiplied  "papers,"  "duties,"  or  "exer- 
cises," does  not  need  telling  that,  in  the  matter 
of  work,  sufficient  for  the  day    is    the    teaching 
thereof.     To  expect  that,  over  and    above    such 
work,  a  Sister  should  fill  the  supplemental  role 
of  sacristan,  organist,  janitress,  or  quasi-curate,  is 
to  display  such  a  lack  of  consideration,  not  to  say 
of  intelligence,  as  is  difficult  to  reconcile  with  one's 
habitual  notion  of  a  judicious  cleric.    The  sweat- 
ing system  is  bad  enough  in  the  tailor's  trade  or 
the  tobacconist's;  in  common  decency  it  should 
be  tabooed  in  the  case  of  our  teaching  Sisters. 


LEISURE  OF  CLERICS  AND  RELIGIOUS    207 

Evidently  there  is  scant  leisure  for  religious 
subjected   to  such  conditions   as   the  foregoing; 
but  the  deprivation  of  what  is  rightfully  theirs 
does  not  invalidate  their  title  thereto,  nor  does 
their  case,  which,  for  the  honor  of  our  cloth,  one 
hopes  is  altogether  exceptional,  affect  the  general 
rule  that  religious  as  well  as  seculars  have  a  rea- 
sonable amount  of  daily  free  time.    If,  as  has  al- 
ready been  said,  representatives  of  both  classes  do 
not  always  admit  or  even  recognize  the  fact,  it  is 
very  probably  because  they  are  wanting  in  meUiod 
and  have  not  learned  the  important  secret  of  sys- 
tematizing ttieir  work  and  prayer  and  recreation. 
There   are    few,"    says    Archbishop    Spalding, 
whom  routine  work  keeps  busy  more  than  ten 
hours  in  twenty-four.    Allow  eight  hours  for  sleep 
and  two  for  meals,  and  there  remain  four  hours 
for    self-improvement"    Profitable    expeuditure, 
raUier  than  useless  frittering  away  of  these  hours' 
depends  very  largely  on  a  person's  having  or  not 
havmg  an  individual  rule  of  life.    All  treatises  on 
the  priesthood  emphasize  the  expediency,  or  rather 
tiie  necessity,  of  such  a  rule  as  a  means  to  that 
systematic  action  of  which  St.    Augustine    says, 
"Order  leads  to  God." 

"Among  the  means  proper  to  aid  the  priest  in 
rapidly  attaining  the  sanctity  exacted  by  his  state  " 
says  Le  Tresor  du  Pretre.  "there  is  one  of  great 
efficiency,  recommended  by  the  saints  as  the 
easiest  and  safest  road  by  which  to  reach  that 
goal— the  faitiiful  and  constant  observance  of  a 
rule  of  life  drawn  up  with  care  and  prudence  and 


208 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


I   111 


M 


1 1 1 
iii 


approved  by  a  wise  director."  "In  order  to  spend 
his  time  for  the  glory  of  God,  for  the  sanctifica- 
tion  of  his  own  soul,  and  the  salvation  of  his  neigh- 
bor, every  good  priest,"  declares  Father  MuUer, 
"draws  up  for  himself  a  good  rule  of  life  and 
strives  to  live  up  to  it"  "If  you  never  acted  from 
caprice,  but  observed  a  fixed  order  in  your  every- 
day life,  appointing  a  suitable  time  for  everything, 
you  ^ould  never  have  to  complain  of  want  of 
time,"  protests  Rules  for  the  Pastor  of  Souls;  and 
it  adds :  "Having  first  fulfilled  all  your  duties  in 
the  best  way  possible,  you  would  still  find  time 
for  all  necessary  recreation."  And  Canon  Keat- 
inge  tells  his  brother  priests :  "The  need  of  method 
and  rule  in  our  life  comes  home  to  us  in  a  strik- 
ing way  when  we  reflect  that  there  is  no  profes- 
sion or  calling  in  life  in  which  the  work  can  be 
got  through  in  a  slovenly  and  negligent  manner 
more  easily  than  in  ours.  ...  I  know  of  no 
walk  in  life  where  a  man  can  do  less  if  he  chooses 
than  in  the  priesthood,  and  yet  be  sure  of  the 
necessaries." 

The  basic  truth  underlying  these  several  quota- 
tions would  seem  to  be  that  priests  and  religious 
lack  most  frequently,  not  ti  ne,  but  orderly  sys- 
tem in  utilizing  time;  not  real  leisure,  but  real 
method  in  the  performance  of  their  various  duties. 
Hazlitt's  assertion,  "the  more  busy  we  are,  the 
more  leisure  we  have,"  is  absurd  only  at  first 
blush;  many  a  man  has  often  experienced  its  prac- 
tical truth.  Not  less  judicious  is  Lord  Chester- 
field's statement:    "It  is  an  undoubted  truth  that 


11 


LEISURE  OF  CLERICS  AND  RELIGIOUS    209 


the  less  one  has  to  do  the  less  time  one  has  to  do 
It  m     One  yawns,  one  procrastinates,  one  can  do 
It  when  one  will,  and,  therefore,  one  seldom  does 
li  at  all;  whereas  those  who  have  a  good  deal  of 
busmess  must  (to  use  a  vulgar  expression)  buckle 
to  It,  and  then  they  always  find  time  to  do  it  in  " 
A  review  of  his  personal  activities  at  two  different 
penods— an  extra  busy  week,  for  instance,  and  an 
unusually    slack  one-will    demonstrate    to    the 
average  man  the  j    itness  of  this  reflection,  and 
should  convince  him  tiiat  if,  conformably  to  the 
old-time  /-ounsel,  he  "works  while  he  works,"  he 
will  lack     either  time  nor  zest  to  "play  while  he 
plays." 

It  would  be  superfluous,  if  not  impertinent,  to 
dilate  m  such  a  volume  as  this  on  tiie  distorted 
view  of  Christian  perfection  and  the  spiritual  life 
taken  by  those   who   would    identify    legitimate 
leisure  with  wasted  opportunity  or  time  lost.    It  is 
elementary  that  the  very  best  thing  one  can  do 
at  any  given  time  is  to  accomplish  God's  will.  The 
most  lucid  and  unmistakable  expression  of  that 
holy  will  as  to  the  details  of  daily  routine  is  nor- 
maUy  found  in  "a  rule  of  life  drawn  up  with  care 
and  prudence  and  approved  by  a  wise  director," 
and  the  leisure  permitted  or  enjoined  by  such  a 
rule  IS  no  more  inimical  to  one's  eternal  interests 
one's  personal  sanctification,  than  is  the  most  in- 
tense and  exhausting  labor  of  brain    or   brawn 
More  than  most  other  people,  presumably,  clerics 
and  religious  resemble  tiie  just  man.  in  that  they 
hve  by  faith,"  and  tiieir  consequent  purity  of  in- 

14 


210 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


tention  gives  supernatural  merit  to  acts  in  them- 
selves indifferent,  unmoral.  There  is  sound  theol- 
ogy as  well  as  common  sense  in  the  advice :  Enjoy 
your  daily  leisure;  but,  whether  you  rest  or  read, 
pay  visits  or  receive  them,  ride,  row,  wheel,  or 
walk,  "or  whatever  else  you  do,  do  all  to  the  glory 
of  God." 


:lliJ! 


n 


I     ■■^% 


\ 


XVII 
CLERICAL   HOBBIES 

Blessed  is  the  man  that  hath  a  hohhj.—Brougham. 

are^amoi^'^h^p"  w"  *'"  '°*!y««t»«l  <>»«« Such  recreations 

i"rldlTnS.-*S«,iS!  P'^^^"^***--  "^-"t  -Ifi'hness  and  vulgar 

♦-,  ^7"^°?  *?  P***  '"^  ''''»*  yo«  a'-e-  A  good  farthine  is  bet- 
riahf^  *',?*'*  sovereign  Aflfect  no  oddnL;  but  dare  to  be 
nght,  th.a  -h  you  have  to  be  singular.— 5.  Coley. 

LJAPPY  the  priest  with  several  harmless  hobbies, 
*  *    and  woe  worth  the  cleric  too  lisUess  or  too 
la^  to  enjdy  the  riding  of  even  one.     Innocent 
hobbies  may  not  in  themselves  be  virtues-  but 
they  often  serve  as  virtue's  safeguards,  and' they 
are  sovereign  remedies  against  sloth,  which,  as 
many  a  pnest  has  learned  by  experience,  is  not 
the  least  msidious  of  the  seven  deadly  sins.    Does 
this  impress  the  reader  as   surprising   doctrine, 
utterly  opposed  to  prevalent  opinion  and  his  own 
habitual  judgment?    Does  not  the  phrase  "a  man 
with  a  hobby"  connote  an  insufferable  bore,  a 
pereon  who,  however  estimable  be  may  be  in  the 
mam,  is  on  some  subject  or  subjects  eccentric  and 
cranky,  an  individual  whom  normally  sane  people 
regard  with  a  certain  measure  of  kindly  tolerance, 
not  to  say  good-humored  contempt?    Let  us  see 
Our  word,  hobby,  is  the  modem  equivalent 
of  the  old-time  hobby-horse,  which  term,  in  its 
literal  sense,  meant  either  a  wooden  figure  of  a 


212 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


horse,  usually  provided  with  rockers,  for  children 
to  nde  on,  or  one  of  the  principal  performers  in 
a  morns-dance,  having  a  figure  of  a  horse  made 
of  wickerwork  supported  about  his  waist,  and  his 
feet  concealed  by  a  housing.   The  identity  of  mean- 
ing  m  the  older  and  the  more  recent  word  is  clear 
from  the  idea  of  equestrianism  common  to  both 
In  our  day  we  ride  hobbies,  whereas  in  Tristram 
Shandy  shme  "my  Uncle  Toby  rode  a  hobby- 
horse       In  present-day  literary  usage,  a  hobby, 
according  to  the  Century  dictionary,  is  any  favorite 
objec^  pursuit,  or  topic;  that  which  a  person  per- 
sistenUy  pursues  or  dwells  upon  with  zeal  or  de- 
light, as  If  riding  a  horse.    Webster  defines  it  as 
a  subject  upon  which  one  is  constantly  setting  off  • 
favonte  theme  of  disconrse,    thought,   or   effort! 
Ihe  Standard  declares  it  to  be  a  subject  or  pursuit 
in  which  a  person  takes  extravagant  or  persistent 
irterest     A  more  satisfactory,  because  more  ade- 
quate definition  tiian  any  of  tfie  foregoing  is  tiiis. 
from  the  Oxford  dictionary:   "Favorite  subject  o^ 
occupation  that  is  not  one's  main  business." 

The  restrictive  clause,  "that  is  not  one's  main 
business.  IS  not  merely  supplemental;  it  conveys 
an  Idea  that  is  of  the  very  essence  of  the  word's 
ti-ue  meaning.  A  hobby  bears  the  same  relation  to 
one  s  regular  business  or  occupation  as  an  avoca- 
tion (in  the  proper  etymological  sense)  does  to 
ones  vocation;  it  is  a  subordinate  or  occasional 
occupation,  a  diversion  or  disti-action.  This  pre- 
cisionizing  the  meaning  of  the  term  is  so  far  use- 
nu  that  It  at  once  excludes  from  tiie  purview  of 


CLERICAL  HOBBIES 


213 

^L''llZ:r^r^7:''P''''''y  employments,^ 

SruJio'   The^rr  C^Sr  "'  """^ 
jn«  diffleui.  texts  in  Ho,y  Vri  ^^/eaSeral 

the  •Wh, ,    K  °"  °-  i'  '"■■«^™"-  on  the  '"okout  for 
Dean T   ;^i;''Ch'^'"''°"''  °f  ^is  city  parish.  And 

speaking.  Ceriea,  hXlX  The  ?;v:;SercC 
Hon  or  topic  of  each  is.  not  a  diversion  fr^^Tl 

personal  sanctification.  "'t^rewitn.  his 

A  clerical  hobby,  then,  may  be  defined  as  a 
fa vonte  occupation  or  pursuit  which  has  no  di'rec^ 
bearing  on  one's  priestly  duties;  or  a  subject  of 
predilection,  non-sacerdotal    in    charac  er '  upon 

.W  tl^at"!r'"*'  ^^':^*«-««"  one  loves  to'  dHa" 
l^ow  that  the  possession  of  hobbies,  thus  under- 


ila 


214 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


stood,  or  one's  addiction  thereto,  is  something  to 
be  deprecated  or  apologized  for,  is  a  contention 
that  can  scarcely  be  made  good.  Any  orderly  dis- 
cussion of  the  matter  is  apt  to  resolve  itself  into 
the  centuried  distinction  between  the  use  of  a 
thing  and  its  abuse.  A  hobby  may  be  ridden  too 
furiously,  too  frequently,  and  too  long,  just  as 
may  the  horse  from  which  the  word  first  derived 
its  significance;  but  the  mere  mounting  of  a  hobby 
and  leisurely  putting  it  through  its  paces  is  no 
more  incongruous  or  blameworthy  than  is  mod- 
erate, exercise  in  real  equestrianism.  It  is  pertinent 
to  add  that  the  very  critics  who  are  most  severe 
in  their  strictures  on  "the  man  with  a  hobby"  not 
infrequently  have  very  pronounced  hobbies  of 
their  own,  and  ride  them  as  mercilessly  as  the 
most  inveterate  gallopers  whom  they  condemn. 
Some  men  are  hobbyists,  as  others  are  egoists, 
without  ever  suspecting  the  fact. 

Given  the  positive  utility,  or  even  the  negative 
harmlessness,  of  a  particular  clerical  hobby,  it 
needs  no  special  training  in  psychologj*^  to  under- 
stand that  the  riding  thereof  may  be  an  excellent 
thing  for  the  priest.  Theoretically,  of  course,  it 
would  be  a  still  more  excellent  thing  if  all  his 
waking-hours  were  spent  in  occupations  directly 
and  immediately  affecting  some  duty  of  his  many- 
sided  vocation,  and  possibly  the  number  and 
variety  of  those  duties  may  be  urged  as  a  reason 
why  he  need  not  go  outside  their  circle  to  seek 
relief  from  sameness  and  monotony;  but  in  down- 
right practice  some  of  those  hours  in  most  priestly 


CLERICAL  HOBBIES 


215 


lives  are  given  to  matters  or  pursuits  other  than 
purely  sacerdotal  ones  and  the  actual  alternative 
to  riding  a  hobby  is  ver^  often  doing  worse,  or 
still  more  frequently,  doing  nothing.  Now  idle- 
ness, even  the  "busy"  idleness"  that  consists  in 
frittering  away  half-hours  or  hours  in  fussing 
about  unimportant  things  and  trifling  events,  is  an 
evil,  which  in  priests  as  in  other  people  may 
easily  lead  to  disastrous  results  both  in  thought 
and  action;  and  if  a  hobby  does  no  more  than 
keep  a  cleric  innocently  occupied  during  his  hours 
of  legitimate  leisure,  it  is  still  a  genuine  blessing. 
It  is  easy  enough  to  moralize  on  the  utter 
needlessness  of  a  parish  priest's  looking  beyond 
the  round  of  his  regular  priestly  duties  for  such 
relaxation  as  is  necessary  for  mind  and  body. 
One  knows  by  heart  the  lengthy  list  of  occupa- 
tions, peremptory  or  congruous,  that  solicit  every 
moment  of  his  time — his  personal  religious  exer- 
cises, his  confessions,  his  household  manage- 
ment, his  necessary  correspondence,  his  regular 
supervision  of  the  school,  his  visiting  the  sick 
and  the  afflicted  of  his  flock,  his  receiving  the 
innumerable  calls  of  parishioners  and  non-parish- 
ioners to  consult  him  on  a  hundred  diff'erent 
topics,  his  instructing  prospective  converts,  etc., 
etc.,  and  the  variety  of  these  occupations  may  be 
pleaded  as  the  equivalent  of  rest;  but  it  is  an 
undeniable  fact  that,  this  formidable  list  of  activ- 
ities to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  the  parish 
priest  who  has  not  several  hours  of  leisure  a  day 
is  the  exception,  not  the  rule.     In  so  far  as  the 


216 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


III 


subject  of  this  essay  concerns  the  reader,  the 
main  point  is,  not  what  he  might  do  or  should  do. 
but  what  he  actually  does. 

As  for  those  priests,  a  goodly  number  in  our 
day,  who  are  occupied  in  other  than  pastoral 
duties---missioners,  professon*,  chaplains,  editors, 
chancellors,  secretaries,  etc.,  they  too,  as  a  rule, 
have  a  reasonable  amount  of  daily  leisure,  and 
may  well  culUvate  a  hobby  or  two  that  will  help 
to  make  such  leisure  profitable,  or  at  least  keep 
It  from  becoming  detrimental.  Most  clerics  who 
have  arrived  at  middle  age  have  learned  either 
from  their  own  experience,  or  from  their  observa- 
tion of  their  brethr^  • ,  that 

The  bow  that  'a  always  bent  will  quickly  break, 
But  if  unstrung  'twill  serve  you  at  your  need; 

and  hence  recognize  the  wisdom  of  Phadrus's 
advice. 

So  let  the  mind  some  relaxation  take, 
To  come  back  to  its  task  with  fresher  heed. 

There  is  exaggeration,  no  doubt,  but  u  sub- 
stratum of  truth  withal,  in  this  recent  pronounce- 
ment of  a  metropolitan  journal's  paragraphist : 
Of  course  we  cannot  do  without  hobbies.  They 
have  become  u  necessity  and  are  the  salvation  of 
many  of  those  who  might  otherwise  be  driven  to 
face  a  dull,  empty,  and  aimless  existence." 

Assuming  that  the  case  for  the  advisability 
or  justification  of  clerical  hobbies  has  been  made 
out,  there  remains  a  very  wide  question  to  be  con- 


i,.* 


CLERICAL  H0BBIE8 


217 


eidered-the  kind  of  hobbies  most  congruous  and 
cxpcd  cnt  for  priests  to  cherish.  It  is  a  quesUon 
altogether  too  wide  to  receive  more  than  the 
merest  summary  treatment  in  so  necessarily  brief 
a  paper  ns  the  present  one;  but  at  least  a  few  sug- 
gestions may  be  made,  a  few  principles  laid  down, 
and  a  few  hints  proffered,  sufficient  to  awaken  the 
nterest,  enlist  the  sympathy,  or  haply  provoke 
the  opposition  of  some  of  our  clerical  readers 

At  the  outset  it  may  be  well  to  take  issue  xidth 
that  statement  of  Smiles  which  Is  quoted  as  one 
of  the  forewords  of  this  paper,  'The  best  hobbies 
are  intellectual  ones."    That  intellectual  hobbies 
are  best  for  persons  whose  main  business  is  not 
intellectual,  is  probably  true;  that  they  are  most 
expedient  fcr  persons  habitually  engaged  in  the 
exertion  of  their  mental   powers   is   more    than 
doubtiul.    A  sounder  principle  than  this  of  the 
English  essayist  is:    the   best  hobbies   are    those 
which  differ  most  from   one's   regular,    wonted 
occupaUon.    The  man  who  is  engaged  in  brain- 
work  for  eight  or  ten  hours  a  day  will  surely  de- 
rive more  benefit  from  a  hobby  that  exercises  his 
muscles  than  from  one  that  still  further  taxes 
his  mmd;   just   as    the   laborer   whose   physical 
powers    are    wearied    by    prolonged    muscular 
activity  will  profit  most  from  a  distraction  that 
calls  for  mental,    rather   than    bodily,    exertion. 
Gladstone  s  hobby  of  walking  two  full  hours  after 
every  parliamentary  sitting  was  a  much  wiser  one 
han  would  have  been  his  devoting  those  hours  to 
the  rebgious  controversy  which  was  another  of  his 


218 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


III 


ii 


1    !i 
I 


hobble.;  and  Newman's  varying  hii  literary  labors 
with  the  playing  of  his  violin  was  much  better  for 
him.  and  his  books,  than  would  have  been  the 
reading  of  his  favorite  authors. 

RelaUvely  few  clerics,  presumably,  belong  to 
that  class  of  hobbyists  generically  known  as  "col- 
lectors,** those  who  make  it  a  pursuit  or  an  amuse, 
ment  to  accumulate  such  objects  of  interest  as 
painUngs.  ceramics,  bric-i-brac.  plants,  minerals, 
shells,  coins,  postage  and  revenue-stamps,  etc.  One 
excellent  reason  why  few  priests  are  given  to  col- 
IccUng  any  of  the  first  three  of  these  enumerated 
objects  is  that  the  hobby  is  a  more  expensive  one 
than  the  average   cleric   can   afford.    A   North- 
western prelate  of  our  acquaintance  has,  it  is  true, 
developed  a  pronounced  taste  for  the  acquisition 
oi  religious  paintings,  and,  a  year  or  two  ago, 
had  m   his   possession   a    very   respectable    art- 
gallery;  but  the  nucleus  of  his  collection  had  come 
to  him  by  inheritance,  not  purchase,  and  in  tiie 
field  of  more  strenuous  labor  to  which  he  has  re- 
cently been  promoted,  his  artistic  tastes,  or  at  least 
the  gratification  thereof,  will  probably  have  to  be 
kept  m  abeyance. 

Such  collectors  as  are  found  in  the  ranks  of  the 
clergy  are  for  the  most  part  bibliophiles,  and  we 
have  known  two  or  tfiree  whom  there  would  be 
httle  exaggeration  in  calling  bibliolaters.  The 
love  of  books  and  the  consequent  desire  to  possess 
them  is  a  scholarly  hobby  which  can  scarcely  be 
considered  unbecoming  or  discordant  in  one  of 
whom  it  has  been  said.  "The  lips  of  tiie  priest 


CLERICAL  HOBBIES 


219 


■hall  keep  knowledge";  and.  accordingly,  in  one 
or  another  of  iU  ramincations,  it  is  fairly  common 
among  clerics.  Some  priests  delight  in  securing  a 
heterogeneous  collection;  others  in  getting  hold  of 
rare  copies  of  volumes  that  are  out  of  print; 
Bishop  B.  and  Father  Z.  are  constantly  making 
additions  to  their  Dante  libraries;  Fathers  A.  and 
T.  pounce  upon  every  new  edition  of  Newman 
and  on  all  books  about  Newman;  Father  H.  has 
several  shelves  of  volumes  dealing  with  Spiritism; 
the  present  writer  owns  to  a  fondness  for  Scott 
and  Thackeray;  his  next-door  neighbor  is  an  en- 
thusiastic admirer  of  Francis  Thompson;  Monsig- 
nor  G.  stints  himself  occasionally  in  creature  com- 
forts, to  indulge  in  the  purchase  of  an  edition  de 
luxe  of  a  favorite  author;  and  Dr.  B.  is  crowding 
his  book-cases  with  tomes  and  brochures  and 
pamphlets  on  Socialism. 

in  general,  it  may  be  said  that  few  clerical 
hobbies  need  less  apology  or  justification  than  a 
decided  fondness  for  reading.  Those  priests  in- 
deed whose  main  work  has  comparatively  little 
to  do  with  other  books  than  their  professional 
ones  are  very  sincerely  to  be  pitied  if  they  lack 
this  fondness.  To  be  unable  joyously  to  lose  one's 
self  for  an  hour  or  two  of  spare  time  in  a  volume 
of  history,  biography,  science,  poetry,  or  even 
classic  fiction,  is  to  be  lacking  in  a  habit  emi- 
nently in  keeping  with  the  sacerdotal  character 
and  of  no  little  assistance  in  routing  the  ennui  that 
is  a  curse  to  soul  and  body.  "Such  a  habit,"  says 
Canon  Keatinge,  "will  keep  up  your  interest  in 


nmii 


it  I 


220 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


things  intellectual  and  will  not  suffer  your  pro- 

of  date.  It  will  bring  balm  to  your  soul  when  fail- 
ure may  have  damped  your  courage;  when  age  is 
creeping  on  and  throwing  you  n?o;e  and  more 

de^T:L  ^°""uf  •  ''  ^"  ''''^''  y«"  indepen- 
dent of  others,  able  to  live  without  the  young  and 
active  who  so  often  have  no  time  for  usf  and 

It  will  carry  you  over  many  pitfalls  and  will  en- 

Of  cognate  character  and  similar  utility  is  the 
hobby  of  writing,  which  might  well  be  a  good  deal 
more  common  than  it  is.  Even  though  a  priest's 
hterary  output  never  finds  its  way  into  prinlits 
production  may  easily  prove  a  veritable  blessing 
to  himself.  ,f  not  to  others.  Whether  his  preference 
be  for  some  one  of  the  many  forms  of  prose  or  for 

JZTu  ^'"'*^  °^  ^"'^^^  *^^  j^y  ^^  find«  in  its 
composition  IS  a  good  thing  in  itself,  and  a  notable 
aid  as  well  to  the  forcible  writing,  or  at  least 
the  studied  meditation,  of  his  sermons  if  is  per- 
haps  worth  while  mentioning  that  the  favorite 
hobby  of  one  of  the  greatest  priest-scientists  in 

Ifrfk,''?"  "^  'IJ^^  composing  of   limericks-a 
striking  exemplification  of  the  old  truth  that 

A  little  nonsense  now  and  then 
— _.  Is  relished  by  the  wisest  men.' 

the  Vv"e.I?„r."Li'''orion*8en?e  t^rJV"Z^  '^'ll".!''  unfaniiliar  with 
cUssic  example:  "onsenge  ver.e  known  as  the  limerick,   here  is  • 

There  was  a  young  lady  of  Niger 
Who  rode,  with  •  o^iil -*r/. 


Who  rode:  wfthrsmiironTtTger; 
And  the  smile  on  the  face  of  the  tiger. 


,1.    'jl 


CLERICAL  HOBBIES 


221 


An  admirable  hobby  of  many  priests  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  possibly  of  some  clerics 
on  this  side  also,  is  the  teaching  <.  Latin  ic  c  e  or 
two  of  their  altar-boys  in  whom  fh  v  dis(  era  the 
germ  of  a  sacerdotal  vocation. 

Music  is  another  hobby  not  uncommon  among 
priests  and  assuredly  not  incongruous  in  the  most 
dignified  of  their  number.     The  cleric  who  pos- 
sesses  a  taste  for  the  harmony  of  sweet  sounds  and 
some  skill  in  the  production  thereof,  is  to  be  con- 
gratulated on  having  at  his  disposal  an  excellent 
means  of   distraction    and   necessary   recreation 
Whether  he  be  a  proficient  performer  on  the  piano, 
hke   St.   Alphonsus  Liguori;   on   the  violin,   like 
Cardinal  Newman;  or  on  flute,  clarinet,  guitar  or 
mandolin,  he  has  at  hand  a  ready  egress  from  the 
tedium  of  daily  routinism,  a  refreshing  bath  after 
his  dust-laden  and   occasionally  soot-permeated 
labors.     Fortunately  for  some  of  us,  it  is  quite 
feasible  to  cherish  a  musical  hobby  even  though 
one  be  entirely  lacking  in  skill  as  a  performer 
on  any  instrument.    Phonographs,  gramophones, 
and  the  like  mechanical  appliances,  have  in  our 
day  been  brought  to  such  a  pitch  of  perfection 
that  at  a  comparatively  trifling  cost  for  cylinders 
or  discs,  one  may  enjoy  a  whole  series  of  exquisite 
musical  selections,    vocal    and    instrumental,    as 
varied  in  character  as  are  the  multitudinous  tastes 
of  mankind. 

Of  indoor  games  that  lend  themselves  to  the 


III 


I  j 

i.  A 


222 


,  H    n 


E 


!      [ 


I     -li 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


discriminating  choice  of  a  clerical  hobbyist,  chess 
is  perhaps  the  most  interesting,  although  many 
amateurs  find  it  to  partake  more  of  the  nature  of 
intellectual  work  than  brain  relaxation.  Billiard 
tables  have  of  late  years  made  their  appearance 
in  a  good  many  parish-houses  and  community 
recreation-rooms,  and  the  movements  necessitated 
by  playing  the  game  are  a  strong  point  in  its  favor. 
Of  games  of  cards,  whist,  euchre,  and  the  old-time 
"forty-fives"  afford  occasional  wholesome  distrac- 
tion, while  the  "great  American  game"— poker,  to 
wit,  is  a  pastime  which  clerics  in  general,  and 
young  priests  in  particular,  may  congruously — 
and  profitably — eschew. ' 

All  the  hobbies  thus  far  treated  are  especially 
helpful  to  such  priests  as,  in  the  prosecution  of 
their  main  business,  habitually  spend  several  hours 
at  least  of  their  day  out  in  the  open,  drinking  in 
a  goodly  amount  of  fresh  air  and  sunshine.  As 
for  clerics  whose  work  is  of  a  sedentary  character, 
keeping  them  confined  to  the  desk,  or  writing- 
table,  or  class-room,  or  lecture-hall  for  the  major 
portion  of  their  waking-hours,  it  stands  to  reason 
that  distractions  of  a  different  nature  are  most 
expedient.  The  best  hobbies  for  them  are  those 
that  entail  outdoor  exercise,  muscular  activity, 
physical  exertion.  There  is  a  wide  field,  a  great 
variety  of  such  helpful  occupations  from  which 
to  choose,  and  the  country  priest  or  the  pastor  in 
a  small  town  or  village  may  easily  do  worse  than 
employ  many  of  his  all  too  numerous  hours  of 


CLERICAL  HOBBIES 


223 


leisure  from  Sunday  to  Sunday  in  good,  healthy 
manual  labor.  Gardening  is  a  hobby  which  in  our 
northern  clime  is  not  likely  to  be  overridden,  and 
which  yields  tangible  and  toothsome  rewards,  as 
well  as  necessary  exercise.  A  carpenter-shop  is 
by  no  means  a  ridiculous  adjunct  to  a  presbytery's 
oi'thouses,  nor  need  a  cleric  blush  for  either  his 
skill  or  his  assiduity  in  building  modest  structures, 
from  a  chicken-coop  or  summer-house  to  a  vestry 
or  a  barr.  Laying  out  the  church  grounds  or  the 
cemetery  provides  an  opportunity  for  landscape 
gardening,  and  the  care  of  an  orchard,  a  vineyard, 
or  a  field  of  berries  will  pleasantly  vary  one's  in- 
terests, and  superinduce  the  healthy  muscular 
fatigue  which  is  less  common  perhaps  in  the 
clerical  physique  than  is  muscular  flabbiness  or 
quasi-atrophy. 

Where  such  expedients  for  -r'ngling  profit  and 
pleasure,  remunerative  work  •  ;  salutary  hy- 
gienic exertion,  are  wanUng-  .  of  course  they 
are  wanUng  to  very  many  of  the  clergy— the  pat- 
ent alternative  is  to  make  a  hobby  of  some  game 
or  pursuit  that  affords  exercise  pure  and  simple. 
Hand-ball,  golf,  tennis,  horseback-riding,  motor- 
ing, cycling,  sailing,  rowing,  swimming,  skating, 
the  old-fashioned  driving,  and  the  older-fashioned 
walking— these  proffer  a  choice  varied  enough  to 
suit  the  most  diverse  tastes  of  clerics  young  and 
old;  and  the  priest  who  gives  to  some  one  of  these 
recreations  an  hour  or  two  a  day  is  considerably 
wiser  in  his  generation  than  is  his  bihous  or  splen- 
etic critic  who  piously  deplores  such  waste  of 


I 


224 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


time — and  then  has  idiotic  recourse  to  his  private 
pharmacy  of  patent  medicines  for  relief  from  ills 
mainly  due  to  his  habitual  inactivity.  The  present 
writer  may  perhaps  be  cod  sidered  too  much  of  a 
special  pleader  on  the  bei  eflts  of  pedestrianism 
to  make  his  appeal  thereioi  of  any  particular 
weight;  so  let  him  quote  in  favor  of  his  own  hobby, 
walking,  an  opinion  that  may  win  more  favorable 
consideration.  In  Bodily  Health  and  Spiritual 
Vigor,  Father  Lockington,  S.  J.,  has  this  to  say: 

A  man  comes  out  of  the  classroom  or  confes- 
sional, dull  and  weary,  his  head  aching  and  his 
whole  being  tired.  It  is  easier  far  for  him  to  drag 
himself  to  his  room  and  lie  on  his  bed,  than  to  go 
out,  and  by  a  swinging  four  or  five  mile  walk  work 
out  of  his  system  the  blood-clogging  poison  placed 
there  by  the  vitiated  air  that  he  has  been  breath- 
ing for  hours.  Yet,  if  he  follows  the  former  course, 
he  will  remain  heavy  and  tired  as  before,  and 
probably  have  a  sleepless  night;  while  in  the 
second  case  he  will  rejuvenate  the  whole  body, 
coming  home  with  oxygenated  food,  feeling  fresh 
and  vigorous  and  ready  for  more  work. 

Verily,  blessed  is  the  priest  that  has  several 
hobbies,  and  thrice  blessed  if  one  of  them  be 
walking! 


APPENDIX 


I 


16 


r 

1 

1 

A  PRIEST'S    WAY    OF    THE    CROSS 


BEFORE  THE  TABERNACLE 

O  Man  of  Sorrows,  Sufferer  Supreme 
^id  all  the  anguished  whom  the  ages  know. 
Thou  chiefest  Martyr  whose  abyss  of  woe 

Was  sounded  to  the  utmost  depth  extreme 
*J»o"»:crowned  Jesas.  who  wouldst  fain  redeem 
Mankmd  with  surplusage  of  pain,  to  show 
Sms  mahce  and  Thy  n-ercy's  overflow  — 

Too  rarely  have  I  made  Thy  Cross  my  theme. 

Yet  see  me  prostrate  at  Thy  feet  to-day, 
I  who,  alas!  "another  Christ"  should  be: 

Ahu  Lord,  vouchsafe  Thy  grace  whilst  I  essay 
Thine  only  function  that  befitteth  me,— 

To  bear  Thy  Cross  along  this  doleful  way, 
And  weep  my  sins  that  built  Thy  Calvary. 


227 


.■■wT":«u-w-'- 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


STATION  I— CONDEMNED 

Was  ever  justice  in  a  world  unjust 

So  foully  outraged  as  on  Pilate's  seat! 

Did  ever  sentence  so  flagitious  greet 
A  blameless  culprit,  or  so  basely  thrust 
Amid  a  rabble  hot  with  murder's  lust 

Such  Victim,  robed  with  innocence  complete? 

Poor  Christ,  foredoomed  at  bar  of  men  to  meet 
This  dastard  judge's  breach  supreme  of  trust! 

And  yet,  wherein  was  Pilate  worse  than  I 
Whose  sins,  sweet  Jesus,  to  my  lasting  shame, 
Have  oft  betrayed  Thee  to  satanic  foe ! 
O  Lord!  in  mercy  deign  to  fortify 
My  coward  soul  that  Thou  mayst  yet  reclaim 
Its  service  true,  and  spare  me  endless  woe. 


i; 

f ' 

! 

1^     tfiW: 


A  PRIEST'S  WAY  OF  THE  CROSS      229 


STATION  II— CROS:i-LADEN 

Upon  His  sacred  shoulders,  bruised  and  torn 
In  livid  stripes  where  cruel  scourges  flayed, 
The  crushing  burden  of  the  Cross  is  laid. 

O  Tree  transformed!    Once  malefactor-borne 

In  shame  and  vile  disgrace;  henceforward  shorn 
Of  infamy,  no  more  canst  thou  degrade: 
Earth's  noblest  heroes  clasp  thee  undismayed. 

And  joy  to  wear  the  badge  that  Christ  hath  worn. 

Full  meekly,  O  my  Jesus,  dost  Thou  bear 
This  heavy  load,  thrice- weighted  by  my  sin; 

And  I,  ignoble  ingrate,  shall  I  dare 
By  shirking  burdens  light  renounce  Thy  kin? 

Ah!  no,  dear  Lord;  though  trials  press  me  sore. 

Thy  Cross  shall  teach  me  patience  evermore. 


230 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


i 


11 


STATION  III— THE  FIRST  FALL 

•Mid  jeers  and  insults  of  the  mocking  throng 
Begins  the  weary  march  to  Calvary; 
The  brutal  guard  urge  on  with  fiendish  glee 

The  drooping  Christ,  and  smite  with  lance  and 
thong. 

The  while  i*e  drags  His  bleeding  feet  along. 
Each  step  an  added  pang  of  agony: 
At  length,  quite  spent,  relaxed  each  yielding 
knee. 

He  prostrate  falls,  than  helpl  s    babe  less  strong. 

Exhausted  Lord,  my  sins  have  laid  Thee  prone; 
More  potent  they  than  ruthless  lash  or  blow 
To  pierce  with  poignant  grief  Thy  Sacred  Heart 
Ah,  help  me.  Lord,  for  errors  past  atone. 
And  teach  my  darkened  mind  at  length  to  know 
How  bitter  'tis  to  walk  from  Thee  apart! 


A  PRIEST'S  WAY  OF  THE  CROSS      231 


STATION  IV-SON  AND  MOTHER 

Upraised  by  savage  force  with  oaths  applied, 
He  reels  and  staggers  slowly  on  until. 
Where  turns  the  way  to  seek  the  distant  hill. 

His  care-worn,  stricken  Mother  is  descried. 

One  glance  exchanged.— then  on;  He  may  not  bide; 
But  oh !  the  keen  and  agonizing  thrill 
That  pierces  both,  the  memories  that  fill 

Their  souls,  and  swell  compassion's  surging  tide! 

By  all  the  pity,  Lord,  Thy  look  conveyed 
To  Mary's  heart,  my  trespasses  forget; 

And  thou,  s--*  Oueen  of  Martyrs,  be  mine  aid 
When  tirt.     .  foes  my  daily  path  beset: 

One  loving  glance,  deign,  Mother,  to  bestow. 

And  peace,  'neath  every  cross,  my  soul  shall  know. 


ill 


t  ^i 


'  # 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


STATION  V— THE  CYRENIAN 

Resolved  on  glutUng  to  the  full  their  hate. 
But  fearful  lest  forthwith  the  Man-God  die 
And  foil  their  purpose  set,  to  crucify. 

His  crafty  foes  their  cruelty  abate : 

Constrained  to  bear  in  part  the  Gross's  weight 
Reluctant  Simon  serves  as  Christ's  ally. 
Then,  grace-touched,  feels  the  contact  vivify 

His  parched  soul,  and  glories  in  his  fate. 

What  Simon,  Lord,  in  this  our  later  day 
Shall  help  to  bear  the  burden  of  Thy  Cross, 

If  not  e'en  such  as  I,  Thy  priest  for  aye. 
Who  erstwhile  spumed  the  world's  delights  as 
dross? 

Ah,  let  my  heart  still  own  that  spirit's  sway. 
And  count  all  joy  unshared  by  Thee  a  loss ! 


i! 


A  PRIEST'S  WAY  OP  THE  CROSS      233 


STATION  VI— VERONICA 

If  sympathy,  so  dear  to  hearts  oppressed. 
Be  doubly  sweet  at  moments  when  most  rare. 
Then  never  act  of  kindness  shone  more  fair 

Than  hers  whose  loving  offices  arrest 

This  toilsome  march,  her  pity  to  attest 
For  Jesus  fainting  'neath  o'erwhelniing  care. 
Her  guerdon  prompt— He  bids  the  napkin  bear 

For  aye  the  imprint  of  His  visage  blest. 


HencefoHh,  O  Christ,  the  daily  task  be  mine 
To  emulate  Veronica's  brave  deed. 

By  seeking  oft  Thy  Eucharistic  shrine 
To  pay  in  tender  love  Thy  Passion's  meed : 

Unworthy  I  to  cleanse  Thy  Holy  Face, 

Still  let  me.  Lord,  Thy  bleeding  feet  embrace. 


234 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


STATION  VII— THE  SECOND  FALL 

So  lavishly  His  Precious  Blood  has  flowed 
Since,  hours  ago,  it  oozed  in  crimson  sweat 
Wherewith  the  Garden's  olive-roots  were  wet. 

So  prodigal  it  gushed  *neath  scourge  and  goad 

And  thorn-spikes  fierce,  that  e'en  the  help  be- 
stowed 
By  Simon  fails  fresh  vigor  to  beget: 
Again  doth  nature  outraged  claim  her  debt, — 

He  sinks  and  falls  upon  the  stone-strewn  road. 


f  f 


Reviewed  by  light  of  this.  Thy  second  fall, 
O  prostrate  Son  of  God,  how  vile  appear 
My  frequent  weak  relapses  into  sin ! 
Erase,  dear  Lord,  my  past  transgressions  all. 
That  I,  forgiven,  may  the  better  cheer 

Yet  other  souls  whom  Thou  hast  died  to  win. 


A  PRIEST'S  WAY  OP  THE  CROSS      235 


STATION  VIII— JERUSALEM'S  DAUGHTERS 

Though  from  thy  sons,  Jerusalem,  had  fled 
Mild  Pity,  forced  to  give  blind  hatred  place. 
Still    did    compassion's    mood    thy    daughters 
grace: 

Foreboding  gloom  its  shadow  o'er  them  spread. 

And  plaints  were  wailed,  and  tears  distressful  shed 
0*er  His,  the  Nazarene's  most  woeful  case: 
Uplifting  then  His  pain-worn,  blood-stained  face, 

"Weep  not  for  Me,  but  for  yourselves,"  He  said. 


So  may'st  Thou  say,  dear  Lord,  to  all  who  weep 
Emotion's   swift-dried   streams   o'er   Thy   sad 
plight. 
Yet  hug  the  sins  Thy  cruel  doom  that  wrought: 
My  soul,  let  sorrow  fast-abiding,  deep. 
Be  ours  for  years  sin-burdened  in  His  sight. 
Till  contrite  tears  our  evil  records  blot! 


236 


PBIBSTLY  PRACTICE 


STATION  IX— THE  THIRD  FALL 

His  weary  journey  drawing  to  its  close. 
The  summit  of  the  fatal  Mount  at  hand. 
Fresh  fury  seizes  on  the  bestial  band 

Of  torturers.    Redoubled  now  their  blows, 

While  faint  and  fainter  with  each  moment  grows 
Their  Victim   'neath   riharp   stroke   and   harsh 

command; 
Though  striving  sore  His  weakness  to  withstand. 

Once  more  He  sinks,  borne  down  by  countless 
woes. 


Unlike  to  Him,  for  my  repeated  falls 
Adown  the  frightful  steeps  of  sin's  abyss. 
None  other  than  myself  may  I  accuse. 
Thy  grace,  dear  Lord,  sustains  whoever  calls 
On  Thee  for  aid:  henceforth,  no  more  remiss. 
Thy   strength   I'll  crave,   nor  further  grace 
abuse. 


A  PRIEST'S  WAY  OF  THE  CROSS       237 


STATION  X— STRIPPED 

Revolting  climax  of  extremest  shame. 
The  garments  from  His  sacred  flesh  they  tear; 
Nay,  tear  the  flesh  itself,  all  quivering  where 

The  tunic's  fibres  grasped  His  aching  frame. 

Each  previous  pang,  renewed,  like  ardent  flame 
Shoots  through  His  body,  still  divinely  fair 
Though  bruised  and  mangled  now  its  beauty 
rare, — 

Such  dread  atonement  carnal  pleasures  claim. 

O  Lord,  my  God,  who  each  recurring  morn 
Thy  Body  to  my  keeping  dost  confide. 

Of  cravings  sensual  increase  my  scorn; 
Be  my  rebellious  flesh  so  mortified 

That  oft  as  in  my  heart  Thou  art  reborn. 
Its  purity  may  win  Thee  there  to  bide! 


238 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


STATION  XI— CRUCIFIED 

Fell  consummation  of  earth's  blackest  crime. 
Whereat  the  soul  all  terror-stricken  quails  — 
See  Jesus  fastened  to  the  Cross  with  nails: 

The  huate-plied  hammers  ring  a  horrid  chime. 

And  Precious  Blood  commingles  with  the  slime 
As  each  torn  v*  in  its  ruddy  drops  exhales. 
Behold,  my  soui,  the  cost  that  sin  entails. 

And  gauge  herein  thy  Saviour's  love  sublime! 

O  blest  Redeemer,  crucified  for  me. 
What  base  returns  with    auntless  grievous  sins 
Thy  sacred  hands  and  feet  to  pierce  anew! 
O  erwhehned  with  bitter  shame,  I  turn  to  Thee 
With  contrite  heart  that  still  Thy  pardon  wins. 
And  vow  forevermore  allegiance  true. 


A  PRIEST'S  WAY  OP  THE  CROSS      239 


STATION  XII— DEAD 

The  holy  Rood  upreared  'neath  sombre  skies. 
His  long,  long  agony  wears  slowly  on; 
ChiU  death-sweat  .nckles  o'er  His  features  wan 

And  pains  keen  throes  have  dimmed  the  mourn- 
ful eyes. 

Tis  come,  the  hour  supreme  of  sacrifice: 
Sin's  full  atonement  He  hath  undergone. 
And,  direst  sight  mankind  e'er  looked  upon. 

The  Word  Incarnate  bows  His  head  and  dies. 

O  loving  Christ,  who  even  on  the  Cross, 
While  life's  exhausted  tide  was  ebbing  fast, 
For  those  who  slaughtered  Thee  didst  deign 
to  pray,  '*^ 

Of  misspent  years  help  me  repair  the  loss. 
And  grant  that  love  and  penitence  at  last 
Prevail  to  lead  me  to  eternal  day. 


240 


PRIESTLY  PRACTICE 


STATION  XIII— IN  MARY'S  ARM5 

Beside  the  Cross  stands  Mary,  living  still, 
By  miracle  upborne  on  that  vast  sea 
Of  woe  submerging  her  on  Calvary. 

Disconsolate,  she  views  flie  spear-thrust  spill 

Of  saving  Blood  His  heart's  last  tiny  rill; 
Then  clasps  the  Body  loosened  from  the  Tree, 
Caresses  It  in  tearless  misery, — 

And  learns  the  while  all  sin's  unmeasured  ill. 

Sweet  Mother,  dolorous  like  unto  none 
'Mid  other  martyrs,  I  would  share  thy  grief: 

My  sins,  alas!  have  robbed  thee  of  thy  Son; 
Mine,  then,  to  bring  thy  stricken  heart  relief. 

Since  each  true  priest  another  Christ  should  be. 

Oh,  let  me  prove  another  son  to  thee! 


A  PRIEST'S  WAY  OF  THE  CROSS      241 


STATION  XIV— BURIED 

At  length  the  awful  tragedy  is  o'er, 
Complete  the  God-Man's  voluntary  doom; 
Within  the  sepulchre— a  borrowed  tomb— 
His  Body,  cleansed  by  Mary's  hands  from  gore. 
Rests  peacefully.    The  faithful  few  adore. 
Then  leave  Him  lying  in  its  silent  gloom, 
That  grave  which  three  days  hence  will  prove 
the  womb 

Whence  springs  the  Christ,  Triumphant  evermore. 

Close  by  Thy  sepulchre,  my  buried  Lord, 
Remorseful,  yet  despairing  not,  I  kneel; 

Though  death  eternal  be  the  just  award 
For  all  my  sins,  Thy  mercy  still  I  feel; 

And,  contrite,  dare  to  pray  Thy  death  may  save 

E'en  me  for  endless  life  beyond  the  grave. 


]« 


242 


PBIESTLY  PRACTICE 


EPn^OGUE 

**Another  Christ!**    Lord,  pity  my  distress 
Who  heard  of  old  Thy  counsel,  *Tollow  Me,** 
Yet,  in  this  mirror  of  'thy  Passion,  see 

How  with  the  years  my  soul  has  grown  e*en  less 

Like  Thine,  yrhile  ever  my  unworthiness 
Has  taken  deeper  hues.   Oh,  let  my  plea 
For  loving  pardon  once  more  granted  be. 

And  all  my  future  shall  the  past  redress! 


And  thou,  sweet  Mother,  thine  assistance  lend 
That,  firm  and  faithful  to  my  latest  breath. 

Thy  Jesus  I  may  serve,  His  cause  defend. 
His  Cross  support,  and  by  His  mystic  death. 

Renewed  as  oft  as  Holy  Mass  I  say. 

Win  union  blest  with  Him  and  thee  f<Hr  aye! 


INDEX 


Aecenta.  Misplaced, < flit 

AcUvIUm.  Favorite  Pricatly,  US 
Relative    Importance   of, . .  SOS 
As*    of    apeclal    devotlona, 

Thla  an 182 

Alarm  clock  desirable.  An,.    65 
All  the  time  there  Is,  each 

has,    SOS 

Altruistic  preaching, 18 

Anglicised  lAtin  words 181 

Anti-obesity  regime.  An 167 

Apostolic    preaching 18 

Art  of  never  forgetting,....  148 

Artlculatl<m,  Distinct, 188 

Association,  Laws  of,...  148,  148 
Augustine,  St.,  on  borrowed 

sermons 14 

on  order,  48 

Ave  Maria,  The, SO 

Asarias,  Brother,  on  atten- 
tion,        80 

on  novels 38 

on  reading,  46,  70 


Baker,  Father,  16 

Bede,     Venerable,     on     the 

Mass ISO 

Before  the  Tabernacle,   ....  827 
BanedicKa,  the  canticle,  an- 
alysed  147 

memwlsed.    160 

Bible  as  literature.  The 78 

Bibliophiles 818 

Blcycle-ridlng,    161 


Bishop  M IS 

Blair  on  pulpit  style lis 

Blank's  (Father)  sermon,...    18 
Bodily  Health  and  Spiritual 

Vigor,  quoted SS4 

Body,  St.  Teresa  on  care  of 

the 181 

Bolting  menUl  food 81 

Bonaventure,  St..  quoted,  84, 118 

Books  as  companions 70 

Book  Censor,  The  Priest  as.    U 
Boyish        Inaccuracies       of 

speech 178 

Breviary,  The 84 

a  burden,   87 

love  and  esteem  of, 88 

St.  L4guori  on lOS 

and  purgatory 88 

Brougham,  Lord,  on  hobbies,  811 

Bulwer-Lytton,    SS 

Buried .841 

Busy  idleness 'sii 


Canonical  hours, 94,  lOS 

Careful  and  careless  preach- 
ers       8 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  on  novels,  U 
Catholic  novels,  A  number  of.    86 

Catholic  Worid.  The SO 

Cecil  on  method 48 

Centurled  fallacy,  A SOI 

Chesterfield,  Lord,  quoted...  SOS 
Chrysostom,  St,  on  prayer,.  68 
Clerical  health  and  exercise,  166 

Clerical  hobMea fll 

Clerical  Jackdaw,  A,  16 


243 


844 


INDEX 


Pav* 

CI«ric'a  readlnv,  A 70 

Coleridge  on   oncclatlon, . . .  161 

Collecton us 

Coley,   B.,  quoted 811 

Communion     Iieasue,     The 

P»lMt«' 12« 

Compliment.   A  left-handed,  171 

Condemned,     jjg 

Connotation 149 

Conventa.   Health  and  holl- 

neia  In igg 

Council    of    Trent    on    the 

MaM lie 

Crichton-Browne,  Sir  Jamea, 

quoted igg 

Critical   reviewa  on  novels,.    29 

Croaa-Laden 229 

Crucified 288 

Cur«  d'Ara  and  Ab»)«  Loley.  189 
Cyrenian,  The,  232 

O 

Dally    communion    doctrine, 

the 187 

Daily  meditation 59 

Dana,  C.   A.,  on  the  Bible,.     78 

Dead 889 

Denotation 148 

Deaultory  reading. 79 

Dickens,   on  walking 82 

Dinner,  A  rubrical 88 

Directive  rubrics,    87 

Diacourses,    Wanaerlng,    ...      9 

Dlatlnct   articulation 182 

Divine  office.  The 94,  102 

Dominican    rule    on    health, 
The, 198 

■ 

Barly  riaing,   68 

Earnestness  in  oratory 14 

Eating  and  exercising, 169 

Eccieslaatloal  Review,  The,.    80 
Eccleaiaaticus       on       little 

things 88 

on  health 155 


Pag* 
Effects  of  mental  prayer,...    89 

E^gan,   M.   F.,  quoted 88 

Eliot,  George 88 

Elision   of  ayilables  In  pro- 
nouncing,      184 

Eloquence  and  pew-rents,..  114 

Emerson  on  health,  166 

Ennut,  Sacerdotal ».     88 

Epilogue     to    Way    of    the 

Cross 848 

Eucharistlc  League.  The,  188, 188 
Eucharist  not  a  special  ban- 
quet.  The 189 

an  antidote,  not  a  reward,  187 
Evil      thoughts      and      poor 

'       health, 194 

Excrescence,   An 60 

Exercise,      Clerical      health 

and 186 

needed  by  Sisters 196 

Extemporaneous  speeches,..       9 


Faber,  Father,  on  Mass,  118,  128 
Fallse  on  faults  at  Mass....  88 
Fallacy    about    health    and 

sanctity,  A 191 

False  economy  in  convents,.  196 
Faulty     pronunciation     not 

decent 172 

Favorite    priestly    activities,  218 
Feat,   A  Priest's  Mnemonic,  140 
Fftnelon  on  sermon -prepara- 
tion      20 

Fiction     I    condiment,    not 

foot      86 

Figure-alphabet,   The 143 

First    Fail,    The, 230 

Florid     style     excusable    in 

youth 114 

Folly    of    neglecting    week- 
day  Masa 126 

Food  of  the  aoul,  Dally, 69 

Form  In  Sermons 107 


INDEX 


245 


Pace 
Formula    for    pruparins    a 

Mrmon is 

Francia    of    Bales,     St.,    on 

priestly  requisites 41 

on   health 195 

French    sermon-books 17 


O 

Games  as  hobbies,  Indoor,..  SM 
Oardenins  as  an  exercise,..  198 

as  a  hobby 133 

Oerson  on  meditation 89 

Gladstone  quoted S8 

his  hobbles 217 

Goethe  on   time foi 

Good  usage  in  pronouncing,  176 
Grandiloquence    in    preach- 

ln« 108 

Orevory   Naaianiun,   St.,   on 

eloquence,     106 

Grotesque  accentuation,    ...  184 

H 

Hall,     W.,     on     rules     for 

health 155 

Harrison,   Frederic,    on   idle 

reading 70 

Haxlitt  on  leisure 201 

Health,     and     Holiness     in 

Convents 188 

Clerical,     I66 

and  the  saints 192 

as  viewed  by  St.  Ignatius,.  188 

Newman 194 

Plus    X 156 

Archbishop   Porter 194 

Emerson 155 

Dominican    rule 193 

Healthy  vs.  ailing  pastor,..  168 
Heights  and  weights.  Tables 

of.   164,  16« 

Hepburn  on  laws  of  thought,  109 
Heterodoxy,  Orthodoxy  and.  88 
Hill,  Dr.   Thomas,  quoted,..    70 


Hobbles,  Clerical fu 

Some  speciflc S19 

Hobby,   Meaning  of 3it 

Holiness     demanded     of     a 

Prtest IS 

Holmes,  O.  W.,  quoted 

171,  179,  186 

Horseback-riding    m 

Hours.  Canonical 94,  102 

Human  document.  A SOS 

I 

Ideal  clerical  exercise. 161 

Idleness,    Busy 215 

Ignatius,  St.,  on  health 188 

III  health  not  always  wilted 

by  God 191 

Illness  permitted 158 

Improvised  sermons is 

Individual  rule  of  life 207 

Injustice   done   to   Sisters,..  205 
Indcir  games  as   hobbles,..  222 

In   Mary's  Arms 240 

Irish  Bed.  R-— H 4s 

4 
James,    Professor,  quoted,..  146 

Jansenlstlc  bugbear 186 

Jeremiah,  and  preaching, ...    10 

quoted 11,  60 

Jerusalem's  Daughters 2SB 

"Jerusalum,"  18S 

Johnson,  Dr..  on  health 167 

John       the      Baptist      and 

preaching 10 

Joseph  of  Copertino,   St 94 

K 

Kane,  Dr.,  on  system 48 

KfempJs,  Thomas  ft 38 

Keatinge,  Canon,  quoted,  208.  219 


Ladd,     Professor,    on    Mne- 
monics  149 

Laws  of  association,   ...142,  146 


246 


INDRX 


l«rt-b«iid«d  compllraeR*,  A,  ITl 
Lr«tiUiB«t«  Iclsur*  not  ttma 

iMt,     SM 

L>«teur«  of  CUirica  and  !!•• 

UttoM Ml 

d«flnod,    Mt 

Loonard    of    Port    Maurloo, 

Bl lit 

Llbru7  M  onuHmrit.  A Tl 

Ucuoii,  Bt  AlphonauB 

n.  w,  loa 

Llmarieiui tn 

Unklns  words. 14t 

Litorary  ermiy-qulitt 17 

Locklncton.  8.  J.,  Rev.  W.  J., 

on  walking, tZi 

Utlwy,  Abb*,  and  tho  CurC 

d'Ara in 

XiOnsevlty  of  Bist^is.  .....  18* 

Lone  Ufa  a  blaaalr^.. 110 

Lone  aarmona il 

Lowall    on    eztemporanaoua 

apeecbea 9 

Lubbock.  Sir  Jcrtin M 

Lukawann  (^«rlc.  tha tt 

M 

Maeaulajr'a  mamonr 141 

ICacb.  8.  J.,  Father,  on  ona'a 

motber-tongue.    lOS 

on  meditation,  t* 

on  atudy 4a 

Maher,     8.     J.,     Rev.     If., 

quoted,     146 

Manna,  aaeerdotal 59 

Manner    of    one'a    reading, 

The 79 

Manning,  Cardinal,  on  per- 
fection,         IS 

on  divine  office,  94 

on  wearlneaa,   74 

Maaa,  The  Rubrics  of  the,..    99 

The  week-day, 116 

Inconalatency  concerning,.  117 

boUeat  of  acts Ill 

why  not  attended, 119 


Pag* 
Mass.  and  aaalous  pastor.  ..  110 

bast   ot  davotlona HI 

Patbar  Fabar  on HI.  IM 

8t.  Thomas  on IM 

Van.  Bade  on 190 

MasslUon's  best  sermon t 

Mathews,     Prof.     Wn.,    on 

memory 141 

Meditation,   of  (•enmxi, . . . . .    It 

Dally 19 

Memories,    8<ms   sstraordl- 

nary 141 

Memory  and  will 141 

Memorising  sermons,   9 

office  of  the  dead 140 

*  Mental     in«:.'«r,     Sophistry 

about II 

Practical  need  at, 69,  17 

Bffects  of 19 

Mercler,  Cardinal,  on  9xtt- 

else lU 

Method  naceaaary  to  prieats.    49 

Methodical  prleat.  The 41 

Mlnd-readlng IM 

Minor  novelists,  Some M 

Miss-Nancylsm  In  pronounc- 
ing   171 

Mistakes     In     pronouncing, 

Kinds   of IM 

Mnemonic  Feat,  A  Priest's,.  140 

Month,   The,   M 

Moot  Mass,   M 

M<Mrtl0catton,  St.  Teresa  on,  199 
St  Catharine  of  Siena  on,  191 

Moses  and  preaching, 10 

Muller,  Father,  quoted 901 

Muratort  on  preachers IOC 

Muscular  exertion.  Methods 

of IM 

Music  as  a  hobby 921 

M 

Negative  preparation  of  aar- 
mona,     17 

Neumayr,  Father,  on  haste,    M 


INDEX 


347 


pmt* 

Nawraan,       Cardinal,       on 

health I|4 

on*  or  his  hobhlM, M 

Novcllau,  lome  minor, M 

Novol-rcadin*  and  sin M 

MovcU,  tomo  Catholic M 

Novate  and  Nevalltts,  quotad,    tl 

0 

Obedience  to  Pope is« 

Obutty  eUtlatias IM,  IM 

Offlce,    Divine M 

prayer  of  the  Church lot 

of  the  Dead 140 

memorlMd,    141 

Open-air  ezercla* IM 

Oratory,  eameatneae  In.....    14 
Orlstnatlty  In  aermona,    ....    IS 

Ornament  In  atyle,  ill 

Orthodoxy  and  heterodoxy,.    U 
Ortlioeplc  faults  wl<<Mpread,  171 

Orthoepy  In  the  pulpit 170 

Oaler  theory  disproved 1(1 

Overwel|$hta     aa     Inaurance 

rtalw,    1(5 

Overwork,  A  tradition  aa  to,    40 
Overworked  SIstera |0« 

P 

Passive  repetition 14« 

Pastor     is    practically     the 

teaching   church 117 

Paul.  St II.  190,  197 

"Penance,"  A  prleatly 8| 

Personal  experience,  A. 147 

Pew-renta  and  eloquence,..  114 

Phaedrua  quoted.   lid 

Phyfe,   W.   H.    P.,   on  mis- 
pronunciations  170 

Plccolomln!,  Father,  on  un- 
healthy rellsions,   193 

Fiaiilarlzed  sermons,   IS,  16 

Porter,       Archbishop,       on 
health 194 


Pace 
Potenia  diocese.  Reform  In.    N 

Potter,   Father M 

"Practical,"    A    shibboleth,.  10* 

Prayer,   .Vecesslty  of tl 

■t.   Chrysostom  on CI 

Preachers,   Tounv,   9 

Preachint,  Our  Lord's 19 

and  rhetoric lOS 

by  proxy II 

Preciosity   In  pronunciation,  171 
Preparations     of     sermons, 

proximate is 

Pretexts  as  to  "no  time."..  SOS 

Priest,  as  Book  Censor.  The,    U 

as  Church's  ambaaaador,.  lOS 

holineaa  demanded  of,....    M 

a  fulde  In  divine  light,...    M 

the  rural,   .    4S 

Prieat'a  Mnemonic  Feat.  A,.  140 
Prieata'  Communion  Leasue, 

The Ill 

privileges  of ISS 

membership  of,   1S5 

Progressive  suicide 199 

Pronunciation,    Mistakes   In,  110 
Proper  names  in  Scripture.  ISS. 

Pulpit,  Orthoepy  In  the 170 

Orator il 

Style  suited  for 113 

Purtty  of  intention 309 


Quasi -extemporaneous     ser- 
mons   18 

Quintlllian ll 

Quotations  In  sermons n 

m 

Reading,  A  cleric's,  79 

desultory ,    79 

fonontiss  for 319 

Realization  of  unseen  things,    69 

Recreations,  foi-  Siaten,  ....  197 

outdoor,    333 


248 


INDEX 


Page 
Regularity  In  saying  week- 
day Maas 119 

Hepetition,    Paaslve 146 

Relative   importance   of  ac- 

tivitiei 203 

ReliglouB,     The     leisure     of 

clerics  and 201 

Rhetoric,    Preaching    and,..  106 

miaunderstood 108 

Bcofters  at 109 

real  meaning  of 108 

concerned  with  every  dis- 
course   109 

Rising,  Early,   68 

RIts  of  Ordination,  quoted,.    82 
Roman  Catechism  quoted,..  182 

Rosary,  The, 30 

Rounded    periods.    Criticism 

of.    114 

Rubrical  dinner.  A, 83 

Rubrics  of  the  Mass,   The,.    82 

Rule  of  life 49 

a  shoulder-brace 68 

Rules    for    the    Pastor    of 

Souls,    quoted 208 

Rural  priest.  The 42 

Ruskin   quoted,    163 

• 

Sacerdotal  ennui 38 

Sacerdotal  manna,   69 

Sacra    Tridsntlna    Synodut, 

Extracts  from 130 

Bishop  Hedley  on 130 

Sanctity  and  common  sense,  193 

Scott,   Sir  Walter 32 

Dublin  Review  on 38 

Scotch  innocent  as  critic,..    19 
Scripture    proper   names, ...  186 

Second  fall.  The 234 

"Selva,"  94 

Sentence,  A  test 174 

Sermons,  long,  IS 

memorised, 21 

preparation  for,  12 

by  proxy,    18 

originality  in 23 


Page 
Simplicity,  in  sermons,.. Ill,  112 

and  ornament 113 

Slaters,  Number  of  congre- 
gations of,   188 

Longevity  of,    189 

Dying  before  their  time,.  190 

Injustice   done    to 206 

Slang  in  the  pulpit 173 

Slogan  of  Incompetency 201 

Smiles  on  hobbles 211 

Smith  Sidney,  quoted 88 

Son  and  Mother, 231 

Sophistry       about       mental 

prayer 61 

Spalding,     Archbishop,      on 

work 207 

t  Special  devotions,  an  age  of,  122 

Spirago  on   long  life 190 

Spiritual  athletes  of  old 192 

Statistics  on  obesity 1<4.  166 

Stripped 237 

Study,  the  duty  of 43 

Superfluous    nutriment,    Kt- 

fects  of 169 

Sweating  system 206 

System  facilitates  work 63 

T 

Tables      of      heights      and 

weights 164,  166 

Taste   for  reading   a  moral 

help 72 

Teresa,  St.,  on  praaching,..    10 

on  care  of  the  body 188 

on  mortifloatlon 193 

Test  sentence,  A 174 

Thackeray,   82 

Third  Fall,  The,.. 236 

Thomas,  St.,  on  Mass 126 

on  holiness  of  priest, 66 

Thomas,  Joseph,  on  pronun- 
ciation,   170 

Thompson,  Francis 199 

Thompson,    Sir    Henry,    on 
over-eating,   169 


INDEX 


249 


Page 
Thoroughness    in    preparing 

sermons 12 

Time  for  walking I68 

Tradition  as  to  overwork,..    40 
Treatises  on  the  priesthood, 

a  lack  in,  157 

Trent,  Council  of.  on  Mass,  116 
Trisop  du  Pr4tre,  Le,  quot- 
ed     49 

Turrino  quoted 82 

U 

Unaccented  vowels, 182 

Uncut  tomes,   75 

Unhealthy  religious 193 

Unmethodical  habits 62 

Unrhetorical  sermons 107 

Use  the  law  of  living  lan- 

«uage 176 

Unseen    things,    Realization 

o' 69 

Untenable  position.  An, 176 

Unsystematic  priest.  The,.,.    61 

V 

Vanity   in  preachers, 14 

Veronica,    28S 

Visionary  cleric.  The 138 

W 

Walking,  Dr.  Kintxlng  on,..  163 

for  women 199 

best  of  outdoor  sports 198 


Page 

Walking,  Cardinal  Olbbons  on,  168 

Pius  X.  on 161 

Dickens  on 162 

gauge  of  youthf ulness,  ...  163 

Father  Lockington  on 224 

the   author's    hobby 224 

Wandering  discourses 9 

Way      of      the      Cross,      A 

Priest's 227 

Weather      conditions      and 

walking 168 

Weights  and  heights.  Tables 

ot.  164,  166 

Webster,    Noah,    on    accent 

in    KngUsh I88 

Week-Day    Mass,    The 116 

'/"lately,   Dr 9 

Wnlte,       Richard       Grant, 

quoted 182 

Why  many  pi  ests  mispro- 
nounce  177 

Writing,   46,  220 

Word  of  Ood,  -Respect  due  to,     9 
Wrong  sounds  given  to  let- 
ter  180 

Y 

Young  preachers 9 

"Young  Priest,"  Meaning  of,    13 

2 

Zeal  not  according  to  knowl- 
edge  197 

Zulueta,  S.  J.,  Father,  quot- 
ed  134 


